“The interest of the plot commences with the first chapter, and is maintained throughout.
It is a native novel, in which the scene is laid in the city of Philadelphia, and the incidents
detailed with a truthfulness of description which constitutes the great charm of Mr.
Bennett's writings. In his previous works, Mr. Bennett has described border life, prairie
scenes, and Indian warfare, with a pen so graphic, as to bring the scene bodily before the
reader. In `Ellen Norbury,' he deals with every day occurrences of domestic town life
in the same minute and elaborate way—forcibly reminding us of the descriptions of Bulwer
in `Eugene Aram,' and other works. `Ellen Norbury' contains throughout a moral
of which the reader is never permitted to lose sight—that crime sooner or later leads to
retribution, and that virtue, even when exposed to severe trials, eventually receives its
reward.”