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In the years following its initial publication, "The Fountainhead" has received relatively little attention from literary critics. Assessing the novel's legacy, philosopher Douglas Den Uyl described "The Fountainhead" as relatively neglected compared to her later novel, "Atlas Shrugged", and said, "our problem is to find those topics that arise clearly with "The Fountainhead" and yet do not force us to read it simply through the eyes of "Atlas Shrugged"." Among critics who have addressed it, some consider "The Fountainhead" to be Rand's best novel, although in some cases this assessment is tempered by an overall negative judgment of Rand's writings. Purely negative evaluations have also continued; a 2011 overview of American literature said "mainstream literary culture dismissed [] in the 1940s and continues to dismiss it".