Brisbane still has its trams, there are porters on the railway stations, and people read books and play cards at night instead of watching the box.

I felt a vague nostalgia reading about a time when a state politician could move freely around at whim without bodyguards and a media pack at heel.

"[2] In his extensive study of Vance Palmer's work Harry Hesletine stated: "It is characteristic of Palmer that he opened the last volume of the trilogy at the zenith of Donovan's career only for the sake of exploring the disappointments, frustrations, and failures which underlie his seemingly gleaming achievement...In taking Donovan back to Golconda for this insight into his future.

Palmer closes The Big Fellow with a forceful reminder of its integral relation to Seedtime and Golconda: the trilogy ends where it had begun.

And however wide a range of material his fascination with Australian society encouraged, however broad a span of space and time his panoramic structure demanded, he undoubtedly made of the three novels a single and unified work of art.