The Financier (1912) is a novel by Theodore Dreiser. The first
installment of Dreiser's Trilogy of Desire, The Financier has
endured as a classic of naturalist fiction and remains a powerful
example of social critique over a century after its publication.
Followed by The Titan (1914) and The Stoic (1947), The Financier
captures the greed at the heart of the Gilded Age, a time when tycoons
rose with total impunity to take over swaths of American industry. Based
on the life of Charles Yerkes, an influential businessman who funded the
development of railway systems in Chicago and London, The Financier is
a masterpiece of twentieth century American literature that continues to
resonate today. Born the son of a banker, Frank Cowperhood comes of age
in a rapidly changing Philadelphia. Determined to make something at
himself, he discovers his talent for purchasing goods at a low price in
order to sell them for a profit to local stores. Eventually, he finds
work at several local finance companies, gaining the trust of the local
elite while enriching himself through dubious deals and schemes. Despite
his young age, he marries a wealthy widow, cementing his status as a man
of fortune. When he is caught up in an investigation into thefts from
the city treasury, he is forced to rely on his hard-earned talent for
grifting in order to keep himself out of prison. Through bribery,
blackmail, and extortion--the means with which he made his way to the
top--he attempts to lift himself from the depths of his own undoing.
The Financier is a story of romance, greed, and betrayal that says as
much about a single man as it does about the values of an entire
society. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset
manuscript, this edition of Theodore Dreiser's The Financier is a
classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.
