This upsets his family and particularly his lady friend, Julia Dallow, a beautiful but demanding woman deeply involved in political campaigns.

Peter returns to London to see her debut in this role, and to propose to her again; but she is already married to Basil Dashwood, her fellow actor and business manager.

Miriam Rooth is a magnificent creation, and the reader can't help but admire her tireless energy as she perfects her talent and earns great success.

In the preface to the New York Edition text of the novel, James regretted that he hadn't succeeded completely with Nick Dormer.

This novel seems strangely "un-Jamesian" in that it wanders amiably along, with a large cast—the Henry James Encyclopedia counts more than fifty named characters, although only a dozen or so play an active role—and a lot of things happening in a sometimes disjointed way.

The double plot makes for a rather sprawling book, less reminiscent of James' other novels and more like the great Victorian epics by Dickens and Thackeray.

Many commentators are willing to grant James' assertion in the New York Edition preface that the novel maintains a pleasant "tone" or charm or ambiance.

A dramatization of the novel was presented as part of the Gilded Stage Festival at The Metropolitan Playhouse in New York City in January 2014.