The story revolves around an American, Brooke Burgess, who travels to Italy and becomes infatuated with a beautiful woman named Fulvia Vivaldi. He decides to paint her portrait, but their relationship is complicated by the fact that Fulvia is already married to a wealthy Italian man. As Brooke becomes more obsessed with Fulvia, he begins to uncover dark secrets about her past, including a tragic event that occurred in her family's ancestral home, known as the House of the Dead Hand.
By Edith Wharton · First published 1904 · Genre: Gothic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Mystery