The Wings of the Dove
The Wings of the Dove is a novel written by Henry James and first published in 1902.
The novel focuses on the interests and friendships surrounding the figure of Milly Theale, who is heiress to a millionaire fortune but is afflicted with a rather serious illness. Not everyone who befriends her does so with honest motives, but many people approach her out of pure interest.
Kate Croy and Merton Densher are a pair of lovers who will try to conspire against the naive Milly to get all her fortune. The couple wants to get married but do not have the necessary financial means.
Kate hatches a plan: have Densher focus on Milly to try to marry her and, since they suspect she will pass away before long, inherit her fortune so they could marry. The lovers have been careful to keep their romance a secret so that no one will suspect....
This is a good period story that makes you reflect on human impulses and passions and what we are willing to sacrifice to please them.
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Public domain (US)·No sign-up·DRM-free·Real text, not scans
Copyright note. The Wings of the Dove by Henry James is believed to be in the public domain in the United States only. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not in the United States, please check your local laws to ensure this eBook is in the public domain in your country before downloading The Wings of the Dove in PDF or EPUB.
- Pages
- 505
- Reading time
- 16 hours 15 minutes
- Pace
- Slow
- First published
- 1902
- Language
- English
- Downloads
- 2,398
124 years later, still timely
Why Read The Wings of the Dove in 2026?
A fortune, a love, a moral weather system: James charts motives at the micron level until choices ache. The sentences are velvet and scalpel both.
Today's connection
In a world negotiating care, consent, and power imbalances, this novel offers the slow, exact vocabulary of ethical attention.
Intimate stakes
Love under pressure.
Moral precision
No easy heroes.
Sentence craft
Luxury of detail.
These collections include The Wings of the Dove
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About the author
Henry James
Precision about perception, motive, and the price of choice across borders.
