<ul> <li>This edition includes the following editor&#39;s introduction:<i> </i><i>Henry James, the writer who modernized literature</i></li></ul><br />Originally published in 1902, &quot;The Wings of the Dove&quot; is a novel by American-born British author Henry James. It is part of James&rsquo;s later body of work and reveals a more intensely psychological aspect than his earlier novels do.<br /><br />&quot;The Wings of the Dove&quot; narrates the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her effect on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honourable motives, while others are more self-interested.<br /><br />Henry James once again focuses on the relationships between Americans and Europeans. He shows the Americans&mdash;Milly Theale and Susan Shepherd Stringham&mdash;to be honest and open, though not as sophisticated as their British counterparts: Merton Densher, Kate Croy, and Maud Lowder, who are portrayed as manipulative and deceitful. The central conflict is thus one of moral character rather than of cultural background.<br /><br />In &quot;The Wings of the Dove&quot;, James provides a rather unique approach to the timeless issues of selfishness, greed, conspiracy, love, and betrayal - universal themes in literature since early Greek theater.