Henry James wrote The Wings of the Dove in 1902. It is a novel centered around the life of heiress Milly Theale, and the way in which those around her behave when she becomes seriously ill. It is a study in human motivation, as some of Milly's circle have only the best of intentions in their dealings with her, while others see her sickness as an opportunity to gain something for themselves.
James based his protagonist on one of his own cousins, Minny Temple, who died from tuberculosis in 1870, although the other characters in the novel were created from imagination rather than drawn from Minny's circle. The novel was written as a tribute to Minny, and it was an attempt to paint her as a beautiful work of art rather than as a tragic heroine.
Critics were kinder to the novel than James himself. He saw faults with its construction and did not believe he had made the characters well-rounded enough, whereas critics focused more on the central characters in the novel and the way in which they were introduced and presented.
The novel has been adapted for both big and small screens on a number of occasions, the first being in 1952 when CBS produced an adaptation for Westinghouse Studio One in 1952 with Charlton Heston in the role of Merton Densher--a role he would return to some years later.
In 1998, the Modern Library ranked the novel at number 26 in its list of the 100 best English language novels of the century.
