The story presents the further phase of Miriam Henderson's life. It is an unfolding of her state of mind and emotions from the time she meets the Russian Jew, Michael Shatov, to give him lessons in English, until she engages herself to marry him and is caught in the deadlock of their religious differences. With Miriam's psychological reactions towards life are interwoven, as cause and effect, her many discussions with Shatov on philosophy, literature, race and nationality, feminism and Zionism.
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"Miss Richardson records like a clock rather than like a consciousness, treating the dull and the exciting moments of life with equal emphasis. We feel that we are being sacrificed as readers to her sense of fairness. It is certainly not the fault of the material that "Deadlock' is, sadly we say it, dull." -- "The Nation"
"In some people Miss Dorothy Richardson's curious style of writing, or rather the curious mental habit, which necessitates that style, produces a feeling of irritation. But no one could read even one of her books -- each one a chunk from the experiences and thoughts of Miriam Henderson -- and disregard her. For the thing which Miss Richardson creates in each of the books is as actual as the paper, inks, and boards by whose medium it is conveyed to the reader. Probably to the majority of readers -- the perusal of the book amounts to a sort of vicarious living." -- "The Spectator"
"There are episodes and passages of richer beauty than in any of the previous books in the series." -- "The Times" [London]