Richard Lease

Richard is one of the primary characters in the novel, much of which is told from his perspective. He is a somewhat washed-up director, who was most active in the 1970s and 1980s. He has directed a number of films which have aired on television. When the novel introduces him he is an aging man, estranged from his wife and daughter and has recently been asked to direct an adaptation of a best-selling book about the chance encounter between Rainer Maria Rilke and Katherine Mansfield. This is something of an unexpected career boon for Richard. But he is stymied in his creative intent by the screenwriter Martin Terp, who really controls the project. Richard, in his correspondence with Terp and his exchanges with his dear friend Paddy is revealed as a man of moderate capacities but not unsubstantial intellectual engagements when he is captivated by a story...