A novel set against the wartime gloom of London in which a group of friends pass the time away by listening to historical readings by their artist friend, Serapion Hunter. Ford Madox Ford (who changed his name from Hueffer in 1919) collaborated on this novel with Violet Hunt, a British novelist known for her supernatural stories as well as her love affairs. She and Ford lived together from 1908 to 1918. Hunt's contribution was minor, consisting of some short sections of the narrative. Most of the historical vignettes were previously published by Ford in journals of the day.