Born to wretched circumstances, Felix Cawley has never truly risen above them despite his best attempts. His chosen professions—actor, preferentially but thief, unavoidably—have done little to improve his social standing. His ambition, however, has never faltered. He still longs for recognition by the widest possible audience. Until he achieves that, he’ll take any role he can get, no matter how trivial, in hopes of proving his talent to an indifferent world. As long as he avoids prison or the workhouse in the meantime, he’ll call himself a provisional success.