ABSTRACT
It is pertinent to conclude the study of Rosa Carey's fictional responses to the themes of insanity, 'spare' women, male dominance, the home and religion with some reference to how her work was regarded during her life-time. The reviews of Carey's novels and those of her peers contain little by way of consensus as to what is desirable in the novel genre. Carey comes in for a good deal of adverse comment under this heading. In 1897, a reviewer for the Literary World suggests that her stories are so pure and high in their moral tone that we must not condemn them for their lack of reality', whilst in 1902 a reviewer for the Athenaeum comments that 'Miss Carey's puppets and their manner of play are known and admired by many'. Evidently, Carey wrote ideal novels from a publisher's point of view but the form in which she excelled was far from popular with some critics.
