1. He finds the ultimate collector in Leila Chanler, who shares with him "the quest for the perfect thing." When introducing her to the reader, he remarks, "My point is that she had never encountered poverty or need." This description holds true for most of Auchincloss‘s characters, and it has caused some critics to regard his subject as limited. (In interviews, Auchincloss has countered that that just means the critics don‘t like the topic.) Auchincloss does repeat himself on occasion in this collection – such as duplicate references to portraits that immortalize "the wife of the American goldbug," Henry Adams‘s jab at money–grubbing capitalists; repeated mentions of French court painter Nattier; and two characters who "could have been an actor in a repertory company, playing Othello one night and Iago the next." (In the other version, it‘s Hamlet one night, and Lear the next.) But "limited" seems like an unnecessarily harsh assessment of a fine collection.