"A great American novel . . . it remains uncannily contemporary." (Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker)

Set against a vividly depicted background of fin de siécle New York, this novel centers on the conflict between a self-made millionaire and a fervent social revolutionary-a conflict in which a man of goodwill futilely attempts to act as a mediator, only to be forced himself into a crisis... (read more)