Elinor Lipman, whose urbane comedies of manners are unfailingly witty, grew attached to John Henry Archer, a minor character in a failed early novel. Now she's made him the central character in "The Family Man."

Henry, as he is known, is a good-hearted, well-mannered gay man with an Upper West Side townhouse with an empty apartment on its first floor.

Then his ex-wife's husband drops dead, and Denise, a remarkably self-centered woman, marches back into his life. In stilettos.

The marriage, before Henry acknowledged his attraction to men, wasn't perfect, but he adored Denise's daughter, Thalia.

When Denise took up with a box manufacturer, Henry was not sorry to see her go. Losing Thalia, however, was devastating.

In no time, Henry and Thalia have reunited, and here the story really takes off. When Thalia appears -- a flirty, funny would-be actress who is outspoken like her mother but far more sensible -- things warm up.

She needs a better place to live and the advice of a lawyer, both of which her long-lost stepfather is eager to supply. Throw in some other interesting characters -- Lief, an ungainly actor specializing in monster roles; Todd, a sweetly neurotic gay man whom Denise introduces to Henry -- and the story grows more convoluted and more charming.

No need to divulge the details because that would spoil the romp. It's enough to say that Lipman has created engaging characters at a time when the country is debating same-sex marriage. In Henry, she creates a gay father so loving, nurturing and kind that any child would be fortunate to have him.