The Financier 1912 is a novel by Theodore Dreiser. The first installment of Dreisers Trilogy of Desire The Financier has endured as a classic of naturalist fiction and remains a powerful example of social critique over a century after its publication. Followed by The Titan 1914 and The Stoic 1947 The Financier captures the greed at the heart of the Gilded Age a time when tycoons rose with total impunity to take over swaths of American industry. Based on the life of Charles Yerkes an influential businessman who funded the development of railway systems in Chicago and London The Financier is a masterpiece of twentieth century American literature that continues to resonate today. Born the son of a banker Frank Cowperhood comes of age in a rapidly changing Philadelphia. Determined to make something at himself he discovers his talent for purchasing goods at a low price in order to sell them for a profit to local stores. Eventually he finds work at several local finance companies gaining the trust of the local elite while enriching himself through dubious deals and schemes. Despite his young age he marries a wealthy widow cementing his status as a man of fortune. When he is caught up in an investigation into thefts from the city treasury he is forced to rely on his hardearned talent for grifting in order to keep himself out of prison. Through bribery blackmail and extortionthe means with which he made his way to the tophe attempts to lift himself from the depths of his own undoing. The Financier is a story of romance greed and betrayal that says as much about a single man as it does about the values of an entire society. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript this edition of Theodore Dreisers The Financier is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.