The protagonist, Ben Knowles, is from London, but moves to the United States, the'New World,' "craving vulgarity and strangeness" (page 6).
The protagonist, Ben Knowles, is from a London manufacturing family. In 1848 he experiences the disorders in Paris and then resolves to move to the United States, the'New World,' "craving vulgarity and strangeness" (page 6).