When one thinks of Jessamyn West, he thinks of a writer of intimate stories. "The Friendly Persuasion" was a warm, winning tale of a Quaker family of the Civil War era; "Cress Delahanty" was an equally beguiling account of an adolescent girl. These have been Miss West's two most popular and rewarding books…. [They] established a reputation for style, characterization, humor, and impetuosity.

In "South of the Angels," her most ambitious novel to date, Miss West works on a larger canvas. This is an outsized, overpopulated treatment of a classic theme: the American pioneer on a new frontier. Miss West's craftsmanship is obvious here; her characters, as usual, are real and sympathetic. Yet whatever "South of the Angels" may be, it is not intimate. (p. 23)

[One] might expect satire to be a key element in any novel of land booms and investment opportunities in [Southern California, a] region...