Often considered a continuation of Rhys' three other early novels, Quartet (1928), After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie (1931) and Voyage in the Dark (1934), it is experimental in design and deals with a woman's feelings of vulnerability, depression, loneliness and desperation during the years between the two World Wars.

The novel's title is derived from a poem by the American poet Emily Dickinson which is also included as an epigraph before the text opens:[1] Good morning, Midnight!

Only able to make the trip because of some money lent to her by a friend, she is financially unstable and haunted by her past, which includes an unhappy marriage and her child's death.

[4] When Selma Vaz Dias adapted the novel for theatrical presentation in 1949, her husband had to place advertisements in the New Statesman and the Nation to find Rhys in order to gain her permission, which she gave enthusiastically.

[6] The novel and Rhys' own struggles are the subject of the song 'The Glitter' on Irish folk singer Maija Sofia's debut album Bath Time about women who have been wronged by history.