[Jessamyn West's] depiction of adolescent girls, her low keyed plots, her occasional preference for historical themes, and perhaps even the quiet authority of her writing have deflected critics who are basically concerned with splashy techniques and perhaps the more immediate social and economic problems of the day…. It is likely that Miss West's work will reveal a durability not enjoyed by the more sensational and iconoclastic writers of her time.

Much of what Jessamyn West has written suggests her Quaker heritage. Not only do practicing members of the Society of Friends frequently appear as characters, but such stalwart Quaker virtues as sobriety, tolerance, industry, thrift, and integrity seem to be the criteria by which she judges and conceives people. (p. 299)

A good deal of Miss West's fiction has appeared in magazines, and some of the earlier stories remain uncollected. Her habit has been to select sufficient stories or...