When Stone Walls was published in 1973, it received enthusiasic reviews, most of which drew attention to its cool observation", a quality that some reviewers complacently noticed as "very English". ... the pattern of the right and the unattainable good is matched against a threatening disorder. This characteristic and invisible signature is written throughout her work. ... In this fine novel, constructed and decorated with skill, contrasting themes and paradoxes and an entertaining variety of characterization are rendered in a lively and graceful prose.