The Stoic

novel by Dreiser

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 14, 2026

Quick Summary

The Stoic is the final novel in Theodore Dreiser's Trilogy of Desire, published posthumously in 1947. It was completed by his wife after his death. The trilogy is based on the life of American transportation magnate Charles T. Yerkes.

The series begins with The Financier (1912), detailing the unscrupulous rise of Frank Algernon Cowperwood in the brokerage business, his complicated personal life, and his eventual imprisonment and move to Chicago. The Titan (1914) continues Cowperwood's story in Chicago, filled with further intrigues and love affairs. The Stoic concludes the saga, following Cowperwood to London and ultimately showing the collapse of his empire and the perceived meaninglessness of his life after his death.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Theodore Dreiser
Life
…helped him complete most of The Stoic, the long-postponed third volume of his Yerkes trilogy, in the weeks before his death. Both The Bulwark and The Stoic were published posthumously (1946 and 1947, respectively). A collection of Dreiser’s philosophical speculations, Notes on Life, appeared in 1974.
Read More
…helped him complete most of The Stoic, the long-postponed third volume of his Yerkes trilogy, in the weeks before his death. Both The Bulwark and The Stoic were published posthumously (1946 and 1947, respectively). A collection of Dreiser’s philosophical speculations, Notes on Life, appeared in 1974.
Read More

The Financier
…are The Titan (1914) and The Stoic, which was completed by Dreiser’s wife after his death and published posthumously in 1947.
Read More
…are The Titan (1914) and The Stoic, which was completed by Dreiser’s wife after his death and published posthumously in 1947.
Read More