Some reviewers were outraged by Ann Vickers when it first appeared in 1933. "Persons unused to horrid and filthy things had better stay at a safe distance from this book," wrote one. Lewis's Ann Vickers is a complex character: a strong-minded prison superintendent dedicated to enlightened social reform, she also seeks to fulfill herself as a sexual being. Ann Vickers is in all respects her own person, standing up to the confining rules of her society.