The Golden Bowl

Meggie Verver, the daughter of American millionaire Adam Verver, a collector and fine connoisseur of art treasures, marries Prince Amerigo—a young Italian from a dwindling aristocratic lineage. Meggie is in love and happy, but she is troubled by the thought that her long-widowed father, engrossed in perfecting his collection, will be left all alone. The day before the wedding, Meggie introduces her father to an old friend—a charming American named Charlotte Stant, believing that the company of a young woman will be good for him. Meggie does not realize that by allowing a seductive woman into their home, she risks being betrayed and deceived… Henry James (1843–1916), a recognized classic of American literature and a master of psychological prose, explores the complex relationships of two couples tied by the whims of fate through the bonds of love and answers the eternal question: is wealth a gift of fate or a curse?