Helen Heineman

Domestic Manners, remains FT 's best-known work. Her biting indictment of American life caused an immediate sensation, selling exceedingly well in both England and America. She was, and continues to be, both denounced...

Heineman claims reception was poor in England as well as America because the cultural climate in the former was beginning to resemble that of the latter; because of this, controls on women's behaviour were seen...

Though FT continues to be viewed as a caustic, prejudiced critic of unfamiliar social manners, as well as a snobbish middle-class Englishwoman eager to attack those she perceived to be beneath her, her travel journals...

Heineman refers to this response when she claims the most intriguing aspect of the novel for most critics was the reversal of traditional sex roles. All the male characters are feeble, contemptible, and easily ruled...

Heineman suggests that FT 's interest in women's characters and position greatly influenced her son's writing: Alone among the great male writers of his century, Anthony produced vibrant, robust, and complex female characters ....

Set in an insular, scenic English village, the novel centres on the destructive impact of the newly appointed vicar, Mr Cartwright, whose self-seeking machinations almost destroyed the quiet and traditional patterns of a small village...