A.J. Cronin: conflict and liberation through romance

Conflict which involves both the external and individual inner world is the central theme of Cronin’s narrative world. Heroes in the fiction and Archibald himself struggle to achieve their aims and will never give up in front of difficulties. “Hatter’s Castle”, “The Stars look Down”, “The Keys of the Kingdom” contain dramatic tones that reach the top in “The Judas Tree”: the hero after a long wearing interior debate, puts an end to his own life. Conflict presented in Cronin’s lifelong romance has, however, a positive epilogue in which the hero is free from all his anxieties. “Desmonde” is the final chapter of Cronin’s story.