When this book was published by St Martin's Press in New York and Piatkus in London, 1986, it attracted the following notices:

● Chatterley meets Manderley — Washington Post

● Macdonald inherited all of R.F. Delderfield's fans. His sagas set in England are a joy to read — Columba - Midwest Review of Books

● A highly readable, wonderfully emotional, and perfectly satyisfying fare for the sumptuous-saga lover — Rave Reviews

● Routine, predictable, and humdrum romance, with too much complicated 19th-century English legal maneuvering, and at least one too many charming Cornish peasants — Kirkus

● A cut above the usual historical fiction — Chattanooga Times

● Salted with Cornish wit, wisdom, legend, and tradition. A very good read — The Good Book Guide

● A novel rich in Cornish flavour — The West Briton

And, of Macdonald himself:

● He is every bit as bad as Dickens – Martin Seymour-Smith