This is a subtle novel, a term rarely applied to Stead

Judith Kegan Gardiner argues that The Little Hotel is "underappreciated" in her essay, "Christina Stead and the Synecdochic Scam: The Little Hotel." This is a pdf file.

She writes:

Unusually for Stead, in The Little Hotel we hear less of her characters’ speeches than we might like. The characters and their pasts are gradually revealed, with much left open to our imaginations. This is a subtle novel, a term rarely applied to Stead.