Henry James

An American novelist living in England, Henry James is haunted by the memories of dead friends and relatives whom he has failed to comfort. First, he does not visit beloved Cousin Minny Temple in Italy while she lay dying. Later, Henry fails to keep his sister, Alice, active in a manner that may have improved her health, though he does attend her bedside until her death. Henry's greatest tragedy, though, is his failure to make a promised trip to Venice, which led his closest friend, Constance Fenimore Woolson, to throw herself off a building.

With all this in the background, the novel opens with Henry's play Guy Domville spectacularly failing, the entire audience in an uproar of derision. Henry tries to lock himself away from the world, but is compelled to accept a visit from an old friend who is going into exile in Russia. This friend...