Henry Carr was the English consular official in Zurich. During his time there, he met James Joyce and acted in a performance of The Importance of Being Earnest, playing Algernon Moncrief.

After the production of play, there was a discrepancy between Carr and Joyce over recompensation, with Carr expecting to be recompensated beyond his agreed upon pay for expense incurred during his performance in the play.

In a series of lawsuits, Joyce was found innocent of owing recompensation to Carr, and Carr was found innocent of slander against Joyce.

Not satisfied with this outcome, Joyce immortalized Carr as a character in his novel, Ulysses.