G. Wells, a friend of the author, later wrote that the novel was greeted by an "orgy of praise" in England and the United States.An anonymous reviewer for "The New York Press" wrote shortly after the novel's initial publication that "One should be forever slow in charging an author with genius, but it must be confessed that "The Red Badge of Courage" is open to the suspicion of having greater power and originality than can be girdled by the name of talent."