The Wings of the Dove, Volume II

by Henry James

"The Wings of the Dove, Volume II" by Henry James is a novel published in 1902. It follows American heiress Milly Theale, who is gravely ill, as she becomes entangled with two desperate Londoners: Kate Croy and Merton Densher. The engaged but impoverished couple cannot afford to marry. When Kate devises a manipulative plan involving Milly's fortune, the story moves from London to Venice, where matters of love, money, and mortality collide with devastating consequences for all involved.