Published in 1895, and long out of print, "The Plated City" has been identified as one of the earliest literary novels that treats baseball as an integrated part of the story, which it does. But it is also an incredibly modern story, including dramatic renderings of issues of race, gender and sex in Connecticut during the late Victorian period. "The Plated City" was reviewed favorably by the NY Times when it was published: ., ."The color line always is a distressing topic, never to be dismissed, always dramatic, often coarsened by overvehemence. Mr. Bliss Perry, in "The Plated City, " has shown marked powers of discernment and has treated a difficult subject with uncommon skill.....Mr. Bliss Perry's constructive powers are excellent.