An Ambitious Man

In Short

Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s An Ambitious Man is a late nineteenth-century melodrama exploring the devastating consequences of putting worldly advancement above love. Preston Cheney forsakes his passion for a poor young woman, Berene Dumont, to marry the cold, wealthy Mabel Lawrence for her father's political clout. The story tracks the collateral damage of this choice across two generations, shifting to New York where the secret consequences of Preston’s past collide with his daughter Alice and the gifted organist Joy Irving. The novel endures as an earnest critique of hypocrisy in polite society, institutional religion, and class ambition.

The Story

Preston Cheney, a handsome and promising young man, stands at a critical crossroads in his youth. Deeply drawn to Berene Dumont, the refined yet penniless daughter of a French professor living at the Palace lodging-house, he panics when he realizes how far his feelings are pulling him from his grand public ambitions. Desperate to secure power, fortune, and high social standing, he abruptly turns away from his heart and proposes to Mabel Lawrence. Mabel, the twenty-six-year-old daughter of an influential state senator, accepts him not out of affection, but out of a calculating desire for worldly prestige and a desperate fear of becoming an old maid.

Almost immediately, Preston is galled by his new fetters and sickened by his choice. Seeking to break the engagement before it is too late, his attempt is thwarted when Mabel's mother suddenly falls fatally ill, leaving Mabel in a fragile state. Trapped by obligation and social pressure, Preston marries Mabel and embarks on a long European journey. They return to Beryngford with a sickly, unstable infant named Alice, while Berene vanishes quietly into the background to raise her own child, Joy Irving, born out of wedlock.

Years later, the drama shifts to New York's fashionable St Blank's Church, where Preston has risen to become a prominent senator. Alice grows into a petulant, resentful young woman, while the church hires a brilliant new organist, Joy Irving. The church’s young rector, Arthur Emerson Stuart, falls deeply in love with Joy's music and her pure spirit. However, the scheming second Mrs. Lawrence—formerly the manipulative landlady Baroness Brown—discovers Joy's true parentage and reveals to the rector's mother that Joy is the illegitimate daughter of Berene Dumont. Shocked by the scandal and tormented by conventional morality, Arthur hesitates to claim Joy.

Tragedy follows as Berene dies, leaving behind a manuscript for Joy detailing her past. Weakened by societal pressure and his mother's pleas, Arthur yields to the frantic, obsessive demands of Alice Cheney, who has fallen dangerously ill out of passion for him. Arthur marries Alice, repeating the exact mistake Preston made decades earlier. But Joy refuses to be crushed by her mother's shame or the rector's spineless weakness. Following Alice's eventual death, Arthur tries to return to Joy, but she rejects him entirely. Having discovered her own inner strength, Joy chooses self-reliance and her artistic calling over a compromised love, leaving behind the hypocrisies of high society to build an honorable, independent life.

How It Unfolds

The trade of love for power Preston Cheney abruptly leaves the modest, captivating Berene Dumont to ask Mabel Lawrence for her hand in marriage. Mabel accepts out of pure ambition and relief, fully aware that Preston does not love her, while Preston immediately regrets binding his life to a cold, unattractive heiress.

The closing of the net Preston writes a letter to break his fresh engagement, but the sudden death of Mabel's mother leaves Mabel in total nervous prostration. Pressure from her father, Judge Lawrence, forces Preston to marry Mabel right away and flee on a foreign tour, while Berene disappears in secret.

A second generation emerges Years later at St Blank's Church in New York, the pious yet shallow Cheney family attends services where the rector, Arthur Stuart, finds himself deeply moved by the church's gifted new organist, Joy Irving. Meanwhile, Preston's delicate, spoiled daughter Alice harbors an unspoken jealousy toward anyone who receives praise.

The revelation of the past The scheming Baroness Brown, now the second Mrs. Lawrence, recognizes the dying mother of Joy as her former lodging-house assistant, Berene Dumont. She exposes Joy's illegitimate birth to the rector's mother, causing Arthur to falter in his devotion and leave town in a state of moral anguish.

History repeats its tragedy Following her mother's death, Joy flees into self-imposed isolation after reading Berene's written confession. Taking advantage of the rector's absence and despair, Alice Cheney becomes hysterical with longing for Arthur, prompting Preston and Arthur to repeat the cycle of a loveless, sympathy-driven marriage.

The triumph of independence After Alice dies, Arthur attempts to reclaim Joy, believing the legal obstacles between them are gone. Joy sends him a firm rejection letter, declaring that her love for him has died and that she will rise above her parents' weakness by pursuing her musical career on her own terms.

The People

• Preston Cheney: An ambitious, strong-willed young editor who abandons his true love to marry for wealth and political influence. He achieves high political office as a senator, but his private life is defined by deep regret, a loveless marriage, and disappointment in his legitimate child.
• Berene Dumont: A refined, impoverished young widow with a gorgeous voice and a noble spirit. After being abandoned by Preston, she raises her illegitimate daughter in secret, enduring hardship and societal judgment while maintaining a dignity that outshines her humble circumstances.
• Mabel Lawrence: The cold, calculating daughter of a prominent judge. Plain, meager, and driven purely by social standing, she marries Preston to avoid spinchsterhood, remaining a sickly, bitter, and superficial woman throughout her life.
• Joy Irving: The illegitimate daughter of Preston and Berene. A brilliant organist and thoughtful idealist, she faces the devastating truth of her origins with moral courage, rejecting the weak men of the church and claiming her own independent future.
• Arthur Emerson Stuart: The talented, idealistic rector of St Blank's Church. Though drawn to Joy's spiritual purity, his lack of inner courage causes him to succumb to societal conventions and marry Alice out of pity, ultimately losing Joy's respect forever.
• Alice Cheney: Preston and Mabel's legitimate daughter. Inheriting her mother's weak constitution and shallow petty jealousies, she becomes obsessively attached to Arthur Stuart, using her fragile health to coerce him into marriage.
• Baroness Brown (the second Mrs. Lawrence): A shrewd, self-interested former lodging-house owner who marries Judge Lawrence. She uses secrets and social influence to manipulate those around her, ultimately exposing Berene's past out of spite.

In Its Own Voice

"The thin, flat chest and narrow shoulders, the angular elbows and prominent shoulder-blades, the sallow skin and sharp features, the deeply set, pale blue eyes, and the lustreless, ashen hair, were all truthful exponents of the unfurnished rooms in her vacant heart and soul places."

Before Mabel Lawrence speaks a word, her sharp and starved physical appearance directly reflects her total lack of warmth, passion, or spiritual depth.

"I wore a smart hat to church to-day, and I found myself criticising every other woman’s bonnet during service, so that I failed in some of my responses."

In her personal journal of impressions, Joy Irving captures the petty, hypocritical distractions that routinely replace true worship among the fashionable congregation.

"The man who tempted me in my weak hour to go lower, could not help me to go higher."

Joy's final letter to Arthur Stuart delivers her decisive judgment against his moral weakness, marking her complete break from his timid, worldly influence.

What It's Really About

At its core, An Ambitious Man is an unsparing indictment of social hypocrisy and the corrupting nature of cold ambition. Wilcox contrasts the legal, sanctified marriages of high society—often built on greed, cowardice, and emotional manipulation—with the genuine, organic love that societal rules condemn. The novel fiercely criticizes institutional religion, highlighting how fashionable churches readily grant communion to ruthless speculators and selfish socialites while ostracizing honest women who have fallen from grace. Through Joy Irving's eventual triumph, the narrative argues that true nobility is not inherited through family crests or social status, but forged through individual willpower, artistic integrity, and self-mastery over life's trials.

Why Read It Today

Readers drawn to late Victorian melodramas, social critiques, and stories of female self-determination will find An Ambitious Man a surprisingly bold and modern story. Ella Wheeler Wilcox combines the emotional intensity of nineteenth-century romance with a sharp, cynical eye toward upper-class pretense. What stays with the reader is the novel’s unusual refusal to punish the "illegitimate" daughter; instead of succumbing to tragedy, Joy emerges as the strongest, most intellectually grounded character in the book.

The prose style reflects the period's love for dramatic flourishes and heightened moral reflection. Modern readers should expect some heavy-handed narrative commentary, melodramatic plot twists—such as fatal illnesses brought on by unrequited love—and dense philosophical musings on art and faith. Yet these elements are balanced by Wilcox's crisp, vivid character descriptions and her clear-eyed condemnation of social climbing. It is a satisfying, dramatic read that delivers a surprisingly progressive verdict on independence and personal honor.