Joyce Cary is a kind of non-denominational Graham Greene, except that whereas Greene's characters often seem to be making decisions based on some kind of a priori which has no relationship to any of their other apparent traits or motivations, Cary's have a faith which, while often expressed in ways not compatible with conventional religion, is integral to every aspect of the character as presented. "Grace is everywhere," Cary says in his introduction to the New Directions edition, and his books let you see that. Prisoner of Grace is also an extremely penetrating portrait of political drive, seen through the eyes of a first person woman narrator. A significant step up in structure and narrative energy from Cary's first trilogy.