The Pelican's Brood is a multigenerational novel capturing the end of an era of privilege where white men ruled, and women often paid the price. In this case, the price is paid by Jill, the mother of Seth Winslow. Seth recounts the pleasures and sins of the fathers from the hospital bed where he recovers from what he describes as 'enraged fits of paranoid hysteria'. Rich in detail, both mythical and autobiographical, Evans Lansing Smith unfolds a complex search for meaning, weaving tragedy with comedy, and the literal with the psychological.