Publisher's Synopsis
Miss Glasgow calls it a "novel of courage," and it is well named. It is the story of a governor who once upon a time was a circus performer. Inasmuch as this is in Virginia, he finds himself confronting people who make him feel his lack of blood and breeding. Miss Glasgow knows the people of whom she writes and they stand out clear as etchings, -- Gideon Vetch, the "one man," the Culpeppers and Corinna Page, Stephen, -- they all are real, living and vital. Gideon Vetch is fighting for a principle, -- he wishes to lead the people to truth and justice. They seem, at times, not to understand him, and in the end he is killed while trying to adjust a strike. Then, too late, they realize that he has been a martyr to their cause. Corinna Page, a rich and unusually attractive young widow, makes a rare picture in her print shop, which she runs, not to make money, but because, in this way, she comes into contact with new and interesting people. There is a well-knit plot, and a bit of mystery surrounding the parentage of Patty, the Governor's daughter, who proves to be no relation to Gideon, who is, in reality, a bachelor. One feels that, sad as the ending is, it is the only logical way to finish the story.
--The Detroit Journal of Education, Volume 3
