The Ivory Tower

Henry James had intended for The Ivory Tower to be a ten-book series focused on the riches of dying millionaires and their partners. However, with the outbreak of the Great War the life he tried to portray no longer seemed relevant. He only completed three of the books with one chapter of the fourth before he decided to put it aside. Set in Newport, Rhode Island, main character Graham Fielder returns from Europe to see his wealthy dying uncle who leaves him a fortune. Fielder has little experience with money, so he hires an unscrupulous financier to manage it with dire consequences. Stopped before completion, critics have lauded it as James' social commentary on wealth, greed and the upper class.