During Rand's lifetime, her work evoked both extreme praise and condemnation. Rand's first novel, "We the Living", was admired by the literary critic H. L. Mencken, her Broadway play "Night of January 16th" was both a critical and popular success, and "The Fountainhead" was hailed by "The New York Times" reviewer Lorine Pruette as "masterful". Rand's novels were derided by some critics when they were first published as being long and melodramatic. However, they became bestsellers largely through word of mouth.