In selecting the first novel by Ellen Glasgow to be included in the Modern Library series, the editors' choice was inevitably Barren Ground. Of the score of distinguished books from her pen, none so completely reveals her powers as a novelist. None depicts so poignantly and unforgettably the social history of the South. Dorinda Oakley, the central character, is considered by everyone, including Miss Glasgow herself, the supreme achievement of the writer who has given to the world such notable novels as Barren Ground and Vein of Iron.