The Damnation of Theron Ware (published in England as Illumination) is a classic American novel written by Harold Frederic in 1896. The book and my adaptation are a tragi-comedy depicting the rise and fall of a minister in the Gilded Age. Theron preaches in a small town where he falls in love with a well-to-do young woman, who is worldly and free-thinking. He leaves his wife to follow her to New York City, where she jilts him. He ends up living on the streets in the Bowery until he is found by his wife and Sister Soulsby, who runs a mission. He accepts Soulsby's help and is reunited with his wife, but he doesn't return to preaching. Sister Soulsby sees he is not capable of being a sincere believer and she gets him a job selling real estate Out West so he can, at the very least, support his wife and family.