 Often compared to Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" in its contrast of aristocratic decay and parvenu energy, "The House of Connelly" was praised by critic Joseph Wood Krutch as Green's finest play to date.But Green had begun to shift from the realistic style of his early work.In 1928–29 he traveled to Europe on a Guggenheim Fellowship and was impressed by the non-realistic productions that he saw there.