'These letters represent the intimacies of the household and a mother's solicitude for her son's welfare. She prefers that he live tenderly rather than dangerously ... Winifred James is neither a novelist nor an essayist, though in her imaginitive writings she shows traces of both. The 'first person' approach ... suits her genius more than does an objective presentation; she is fond of the role of preceptor.' (Morris Miller, Australian Literature, 1940)