Classic novel. According to Wikipedia: "Henry Brooks Adams (February 16, 1838 March 27, 1918; normally called Henry Adams) was an American journalist, historian, academic and novelist. He is best known for his autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams. He was a member of the Adams political family... In the 1880s, Adams also wrote two novels. He is credited as the author of Democracy, which was published anonymously in 1880 and immediately became popular. (Only after Adams's death did his publisher reveal Adams's authorship.) His other novel, published under the nom de plume of Frances Snow Compton, was Esther, whose eponymous heroine was believed to be modeled after his wife."