The central character in Footsteps is in physical jeopardy through much of the novel; both he and the reader feel real terror. But it is a terror of threatened or implied violence, without graphic depictions of assaults or cruelty. The suggested violence is clearly necessary to the plot and takes place "off stage."

The several women who appear in the novel play less important roles than the men, but women are not denigrated.

And at the end of Footsteps, William's mother shows commendable courage by tossing Uncle Turner out of the house and establishing herself as head of the family.

Footsteps presents traditional values, such as the idea that each person has individual worth, no matter what his or her station in life. Garfield emphasizes the infectious quality of goodness and the importance of finding a true moral code to which one adheres steadfastly.

The novel's...