Compare Robert Penn Warren's "All The King's Men" to "Mississippi Blood", particularly Warren's depiction of the driven Willie Stark with Iles's lead character, Penn Cage.

Greg Iles quotes from Robert Penn Warren's "All The King's Men" at the start of "Mississippi Blood." This classic novel of the American South revolves around the career of Willie Stark, a back-country lawyer whose idealism is distorted over time by his lust for power. Compare the two works, particularly Warren's depiction of the driven Willie Stark with Iles's lead character, Penn Cage.

This is a great question and when I read this quote at the beginning of Mississippi Blood, I knew it was coming. Regrettably, I am not qualified to answer it, for I have not yet read this great work by Penn Warren. It has to be said that in quoting Penn Warren and with the passing of Harper Lee, Iles must have been thinking about the work of these two southern writers as he plotted and penned his trilogy. The spelling of Penn Cage's name seems patterned on Penn Warren's, and the characters of Tom and Penn Cage both make readers want to make comparisons with Willie Stark and Atticus Finch. The setting of the third book in the trilogy - almost entirely in the courtroom - seems homage to Harper Lee, and the power struggle apparent in both good and evil forces in the book is, in many ways, reminiscent of Mockingbird - and by what you say in your question to All The King's Men. So while I cannot compare these works yet, it seems to me that Iles is not only asking us to do so, but in his very own way carrying the torch of the two into the new millennium.

This is such a good answer, my opinion exactly. I read Penn too many years ago, but have always thought that Iles use of the name Penn was a node to Warren. The purpose of their work is to document the pervasiveness of social injustice.

I read ALL THE KING'S MEN many years ago. If memory serves me correctly, though, I find myself thinking that perhaps Penn's character is more comparable to Jack Burden's. Guess I'll be rereading the novel for the answer.

Unable to compare as I only saw the movie.

When I saw the quote in the book it reminded me I wanted to read All The King's Men so I ordered a copy of it. When I read it I will reflect on this question. Isn't it interesting how reading one book will lead you to another one you need to read?