The chronicle of the Snopes family which began with The Hamlet (1940) and was extended in The Town (1957) is concluded with The Mansion, which, as a note by the author puts it, "is the final chapter and summation of a work conceived and begun in 1925."

The Mansion, however, is a complete novel in itself; and a knowledge of its predecessors is not essential to the reader's understanding and enjoyment. Three Snopeses -- Mink, Linda (who is no true Snopes) and Flem -- are dominant in this narrative, which covers roughly forty years in the first half of this century.