The Wings of the Dove

The Wings of the Dove is titled by Henry James in 1902. It describes Milly Theale, an American heiress who was diagnosed with a serious illness, and how she affected everyone around her. While some of these individuals have good intentions when they become friends with Milly, others have more selfish goals. Merton Densher and Kate Croy are two promised Londoners who desperately want to marry but have very little money. They meet Milly Theale, an enormously rich young American woman who has fallen in love with them both. Kate suspects that Milly is deathly ill and wants her to see a doctor urgently. The lovers part with a cryptic exclamation: "We shall never be again as we were!". The Wings of the Dove was Milly's attempt to wrap her memory in the "beauty and dignity of art" Milly had to prepare for the situation that was to occupy her for the last months of her life. In 1998, The Wings of the Dove was ranked 26th on Modern Library's list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. James took a lot of time in the preface to the New York Edition to admit to supposed flaws in the book.