Considered her finest work and an American classic, Roberts's novel traces the coming of age of Ellen Chesser, the daughter of a poor itinerant farmer. Against all privations and the forces that would subdue her, Ellen is sustained by a sense of wonder and by an awareness of her own being. Reduced to the bare elements of life, her world becomes a ceremony of daily duties that bind her to the natural world and her family. The Time of Man stands as a beautifully written tribute to the human spirit.

Set at the time of the western migration from Piedmont Virginia to her native Kentucky, Ms. Roberts's novel recounts the heroism of the Kentucky pioneer. Roberts was that rare thing, a true artist.. She was one of the indispensables.-Robert Penn Warren. Southern Classics Series.