King argues that Page's development of the Southern plantation tradition presents a contradiction between intent and outcome; his panegyrics of the antebellum South inadvertently reveal the fatal weaknesses of the plantation system.

Holman focuses on the non-Southern stories collected in Under the Crust, which found inhospitable magazine editors because they did not conform to Page's earlier local color stories of Southern chivalry.

MacKethan relates how Page created his Arcadian vision of the antebellum South from his conflicted awareness that the Old South was forever destroyed yet still a symbol of strength and pride for the New South.

In this essay, Wilson reassesses Page's role in American literary history and argues against seeing Page as outdated and a racist defender of the ignoble plantation tradition.

Gross, Page's biographer, assesses three late stories in which Page illustrates the poignant aftermath of the Civil War.

Mims, one of the first scholars of Southern literature, provides a contemporary assessment of Page's popularity and achievements.

Hubbell, a pioneer and leader in Southern literature studies, describes Page's relationship with his editor and literary advisors.

Gross discusses the protagonist of "Marse Chan" as Page's most fully delineated Southern hero.

Rubin, a leading scholar of Southern literature, argues that Page's "No Haid Pawn, " like many Southern works, implicitly acknowledged the possibility of black insurrection.

Downs argues that Page showed no artistic growth as a writer and succeeded only in creating stereotypes, but he also states that Page's work is, nonetheless, important to understanding Southern literary history.

Simms quotes at length an astute critic who recognized and identified the causes of Page's declining popularity and influence.

[Wilson, one of the nation's foremost literary critics, notes Page reading a book. that Page's popularity derives from his ability to soothe the Northern conscience and to stir Southern pride. ]

MacKethan comments on how Page unconsciously reveals the weaknesses of the plantation system through his use of black narrators who embody the tensions of the master-slave relationship.

Ridgely focuses on Page's attempts through literature and lectures to prove the rightness of the Southern Cause.

Gloster claims that Page's writings are partially responsible for the South's success in curtailing the rights of black citizens.

Johnson, one of Page's editors at The Century Magazine, defines Page's contribution to American literature.

In the excerpt below, the critic admires Page for his traditional values and his protest against vulgarity in Under the Crust.

Roberson discusses the revisions made to "Marse Chan" before its publication in 1884 by the editors of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine.

In the following review, the critic derides the excessive sentimentality of "Polly, " but praises the realism and feeling of "The Burial of the Guns" and "My Cousin Fanny. "

In the following review of In Ole Virginia, the critic praises Page's creation of the Southern hero and use of Negro dialect.

In this review occasioned by the publication of The Plantation Edition, the critic assesses Page's contribution to the literature of the South.

Rosewell Page, Page's younger brother, tells of Page's Civil War experiences and their influence on his writing.