Die Flügel der Taube

Milly Theale, a wealthy American heiress, is at the center of Henry James' novel "The Wings of the Dove." The young woman has just begun to lead an independent life in Europe when she learns that she is terminally ill. In London and later in Venice, she encounters the European society of the fin de siècle and wins people over everywhere with her charm and intelligence. Passionately eager to experience life, gather experiences, and live in the short time she has left, she becomes the victim of a plot. Milly Theale's pragmatically minded friend persuades her secret fiancé to marry Milly in order to gain access to the heiress's fortune. From this tragic conflict, Henry James weaves a nuanced psychological drama in his artful novel, published in 1902.