by Henry James
Kate Croy faces a cruel choice between love and money in London society. Her aunt demands she marry wealth, not the journalist Merton Densher she truly wants. When Kate befriends Milly Theale, a rich American girl dying of a mysterious illness, she sees an opportunity. Kate pushes Merton to court the doomed heiress, believing Milly will leave him her fortune when she dies. The plan works too well. Milly falls genuinely in love with Merton and travels to Venice, where Kate's deception slowly unravels. As Milly grows sicker, Merton struggles with his role in the scheme. The dying girl's generosity and grace expose the moral cost of Kate's manipulation, forcing all three to confront what they have sacrificed for security and survival.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: London, Venice
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
512 pages · Paperback · New American Library