The Financier — Theodore Dreiser

Published in 1912, The Financier, a novel by Theodore Dreiser, is the first volume of the Trilogy of Desire about Frank Cowperwood, which includes The Titan (1914) and The Stoic (1947). Dreiser modeled the main character, Frank Cowperwood, on the tycoon Charles Yerkes. This first novel in the trilogy traces the financial rise, fall, and rise of Cowperwood in Philadelphia. Dreiser blends a financial plot line with a romantic one, tracing Cowperwood's love interests as they intersect with his financial exploits.

-- Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.