Guy Domville

The play is set in 1780s England. Frank Humber proposes marriage to the widow Mrs. Peverel, whose son is tutored by Guy Domville. The tutor Domville is planning to become a Catholic priest but learns that he is the last of his family. He starts to believe that it is his duty to marry and carry on the family line. When Mrs. Peverel rejects Humber's proposal, Frank suspects she may be in love with Domville.

Guy is later about to wed Mary Brasier, but she really loves Lieutenant George Round. Once he understands the situation, Guy refuses to go through with the marriage and instead helps Mary and George elope. Domville also realizes that Frank Humber and Mrs. Peverel are in love, and commends them to each other. He will enter the priesthood, as he previously planned.

Two recent narratives have treated the failure of Guy Domville: The Master (2004) by Colm Tóibín and Author, Author (2004) by David Lodge. It is also a central incident in the standard biography of James by Leon Edel, especially the fourth volume, The Treacherous Years: 1895–1901.

• The Complete Plays of Henry James edited by Leon Edel (New York: Oxford University Press 1990) ISBN 0-19-504379-0
• The Complete Notebooks of Henry James edited by Leon Edel and Lyall Powers (New York: Oxford University Press 1987) ISBN 0-19-503782-0