Trilogy of Desire

novels by Dreiser

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Theodore Dreiser's "Trilogy of Desire" is an epic series of novels based on the life of American transportation magnate Charles T. Yerkes. The trilogy consists of three books: The Financier (1912), The Titan (1914), and The Stoic (published posthumously in 1947).1

The novels follow the ambitious and unscrupulous Frank Algernon Cowperwood through his career in finance and his complex personal life. The Financier details his early career, a doomed marriage, and his eventual imprisonment and recovery of fortune. The subsequent novels track his dealings and affairs in Chicago and London, ultimately depicting the collapse of his empire and a life perceived as meaningless. Dreiser, a leading figure in American naturalism, unflinchingly presented real-life subject matter, exploring the social problems of industrializing America.12

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The Financier
…an epic series called the Trilogy of Desire, based on the life of Charles T. Yerkes, an American transportation magnate. The other two volumes are The Titan (1914) and The Stoic, which was completed by Dreiser’s wife after his death and published posthumously in 1947.
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…an epic series called the Trilogy of Desire, based on the life of Charles T. Yerkes, an American transportation magnate. The other two volumes are The Titan (1914) and The Stoic, which was completed by Dreiser’s wife after his death and published posthumously in 1947.
Read More