The Financier

The Financier is the first of two novels in which Theodore Dreiser traces the history of that peculiarly American phenomenon: the poor young boy who amasses an incredible fortune. Frank Cowperwood is the protagonist and The Financier takes him into the middle years of his life. In The Titan, his story is continued.

Frank Cowperwood's career began in the last years of the Nineteenth Century, when America was emerging from a lusty infancy into an even lustier adolescence. This was an era of plush and iron, of wildcat schemes and fortunes on paper. Cowperwood typifies the restless, seeking, ruthless spirit of the times.

Engrossed with his schemes for obtaining more power and more money, Cowperwood does not at first realise that he is unhappy. When the thought finally occurs to him, he puts in out of his mind. There are women who can make a man forget, and he seeks them out. There are business deals which require the utmost attention--and when one is involved in these, one cannot think of personal concerns. The day comes, however, when Cowperwood's world crumbles--abruptly, terrifyingly--and he realises that he can no longer escape himself.

Treated as a novel which is complete in itself--as Dreiser intended it to be treated--the cumulative effect of The Financier is astonishing. With sweep and certainty, Dreiser describes a man who built a vast financial empire, and, in doing so, ruined himself.