It and its sequel, More Stately Mansions, were intended to be part of a nine-play cycle entitled A Tale of Possessors Self-Dispossessed. Set in the dining room of Melody's Tavern, located in a village a few miles from Boston, it centers on Major Cornelius ("Con") Melody, a braggart, social climber, and victim of the American class system in 1828 Massachusetts. The first revival, directed by Jack Sydow, played in repertory with The Imaginary Invalid and Tonight at 8:30 at the ANTA Playhouse in 1967.