The Stoic

The Stoic

First edition
Author Theodore Dreiser
Country United States
Language English
Series A Trilogy Of Desire
Publisher Doubleday & Company
Publication date
1947
Preceded by The Titan
Followed by NA

The Stoic is a novel by Theodore Dreiser, first published in 1947. It is the conclusion to A Trilogy of Desire, his series of novels about Frank Cowperwood, a businessman based on the real-life streetcar tycoon Charles Yerkes. Dreiser completed The Stoic only days before his death in 1945 and the book was published posthumously.

Plot summary

Cowperwood, still married to his estranged wife Aileen, lives with Berenice. He decides to move to London, England, where he intends to take over and develop the underground railway system. Berenice becomes close to Earl Stane, while Frank has an affair with Lorna Maris, a relative of his. Meanwhile he tries to fix Aileen up with Tollifer, but she becomes enraged when she finds out it was a ruse. Finally, Cowperwood dies of Bright's disease. His inheritance is squandered in lawsuits. Aileen dies shortly after. Berenice travels to India, where she is moved by poverty. Back in the United States, she realises there is poverty there too, and decides to set up a hospital for the poor, as Cowperwood intended.

Cultural allusions


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