Originally published: Invisible parade. Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 1972. With a new preface.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-225) and index.

This volume presents a critical study of Flannery O'Connor's stories and novels. The author attempts to situate O'Connor's fiction within a variety of literary contexts -- historical and contemporary -- and to define in general terms the nature of O'Connor's aesthetic and how she responded to the problem of writing for an audience whose fundamental assumptions were likely to be opposed to her own. This work discusses the two novels and selected short stories in greater detail, giving attention as well to the underlying patterns in her imagination. Along the way, the author proposes some particular judgments of the works, but the O'Connor's Catholic viewpoint is unavoidable and he weaves it into his discussions.

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