The Wings of the Dove (1902), Henry James's masterpiece, centers on Milly Theale, a wealthy young American suffering from a terminal illness, who travels to Europe in search of life and love. In London, she encounters Kate Croy, a beautiful but penniless woman secretly engaged to journalist Merton Densher. Seeing Milly's fortune as their only path to marriage, Kate encourages Densher to court the dying heiress. As genuine affection complicates the scheme, Milly discovers the deception yet dies, bequeathing her wealth to Densher in a final act of grace. A profound meditation on love, betrayal, money, and mortality, the novel explores the devastating cost of moral compromise.
