[The Foxes of Harrow] is primarily the story of Stephen Fox, an Irish-American, and his loves and lusts, as he carves for himself a financial empire out of the rich farm lands of Louisiana. It is secondarily a story of the social, economic, and political relationships between the South and the North. Only incidentally does it touch upon Negro-white relations prior to and during the Civil War.

The Negroes in the story serve primarily as background for the activities of Stephen Fox. They never rise above the level of pawns manipulated by a capricious fate.

Mr. Yerby is at his best in the numerous love scenes that make up the plot. In fact, no American novelist surpasses him in his ability to evoke in the reader genuine feelings of tenderness and romantic love.

In his second book, The Vixens, which was constructed from the overflow of historical material he collected but did not use in The Foxes of Harrow, his determination to avoid all semblance of racial propaganda is revealed by his treatment, or lack of treatment, of the Negro's part in the reconstruction of Louisiana. (p. 37)

Mr. Yerby has dedicated himself to the proposition that a novelist must not take sides in the controversial, political, religious, or racial issues inherent in the material he uses…. He agrees that it is important for the novelist to know his character's emotional life, his emotional reaction to political ideas, but he asserts that what the political ideas themselves are should be a matter of indifference to the novelist. (pp. 37-8)

[Each of Yerby's next five novels] is a variation of the theme and pattern of The Foxes of Harrow. The basic plot presents a hero or heroine who has been rejected, rising from the depth of poverty or social ostracism or political defeat to a position of wealth or power or leadership. There is generally one trusted friend who serves both as an accomplice and as a severe critic. The hero's or heroine's love life is always divided between two lovers of opposite character and temperament, with the one of lesser appeal being the lawful mate. Occasionally in each plot there are scenes of great literary power, followed by episodes of incredible adventure, with too little preparation for the miraculous results. There is a considerable amount of the comic-strip-radio-serial technique by which heroes or heroines meet inevitable "death" only to reappear alive at another place and another time.

Now, all of this is not to say that Yerby is an inferior writer. He has rich imagination, a talent for vivid expression, ability to create pity and terror, and an understanding of the suffering of the poor and the oppressed. In short, he possesses the qualifications that could make of him a great novelist. But it appears that Yerby is satisfied with popularity without greatness. He says emphatically, "I think the novelist has a professional obligation to please his reading public." (p. 38)