In Howells' maybe the most famous novel, The Rise of Silas Lapham, the story follows the materialistic rise of Silas Lapham from rags to riches, and his ensuing moral susceptibility. Silas earns a fortune in the paint business, but he lacks social standards, which he tries to attain through his daughter's marriage into the aristocratic Corey family. Silas' morality does not fail him. He loses his money but makes the right moral decision when his partner proposes the unethical selling of the mills to English settlers. The resolution of the love triangle of Irene Lapham, Tom Corey, and Penelope...

"Their Silver Wedding Journey" is a book by William Dean Howells. The writer made the book series of collected dramatic work which is divided into three volume. It is a series of book worth the read.

The book, which takes place in late 19th century New York City, tells the story of Basil March, who finds himself in the middle of a dispute between his employer, a self-made millionaire named Dryfoos, and his old German teacher, an advocate for workers' rights named Lindau. The main character of the novel, Basil March, provides the main perspective throughout the novel. He resides in Boston with his wife and children until he is persuaded by his idealistic friend Fulkerson to move to New York to help him start a new magazine, where the writers benefit in a primitive form of profit sharing....

Excerpt: "I have often had to criticize life for a certain caprice with which she treats the elements of drama, and mars the finest conditions of tragedy with a touch of farce. No one who witnessed the marriage of Arthur Glendenning and Edith Bentley had any belief that she would survive it twenty-four hours; they themselves were wholly without hope in the moment which for happier lovers is all hope." William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was an American realist author, literary critic, and playwright. Howells is known to be the father of American realism, and a denouncer of the sentimental novel....

Leatherwood God, or Joseph C. Dylkes, was a messianic figure in the early settlement of the Ohio Country in the United States. The legend of this man from Leatherwood Creek, who convinced the people of Ohio that he is a living god, served as an inspiration to William Dean Howells for one of his last novels which is quite different from the majority of his works. In the calm city of Salesville, Ohio, on a warm August day, shows up a certain man named Joseph Dylkes, claiming that he is the Lord God Himself causing an uproar in the community. He proposes to perform a miracle to prove his case,...

"The Landlord at Lion's Head - Complete" is a book set in the American society tells the story of the Durgin family that resides in their New Hampshire country house with a peak like the head of a lion decides to move to California because of a bad crop season and Mr. Durgin's health. The visitation of an artist changes the whole story! What happens in this thrilling story?

Extract: "The little girl came into her papa's study, as she always did Saturday morning before breakfast, and asked for a story. He tried to beg off that morning, for he was very busy, but she would not let him. So he began: "Well, once there was a little pig... "She put her hand over his mouth and stopped him at the word. She said she had heard little pig-stories till she was perfectly sick of them. "Well, what kind of story shall I tell, then?" "About Christmas. It's getting to be the season. It's past Thanksgiving already." William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was an American realist author,...

William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was an American realist author, literary critic, and playwright. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of the Atlantic Monthly as well as his own prolific writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day", and the novels The Rise of Silas Lapham and A Traveler from Altruria. Howells is known to be the father of American realism, and a denouncer of the sentimental novel. He was the first American author to bring a realist aesthetic to the literature of the United States. His stories of Boston...

A Modern Instance is regarded as one of the most pivotal works in the career of William Dean Howells; it solidified his reputation as a champion of realism in the United States. The novel is about the deterioration of a once loving marriage under the influence of capitalistic greed. It is the first American novel by a canonical author to seriously consider divorce as a realistic outcome of marriage. The story chronicles the rise and fall of the romance between Bartley Hubbard and Marcia Gaylord, who migrate from Equity, Maine, to Boston, Massachusetts, following their marriage. William Dean...

This book consists of a collection of nine essays, all written by the author which gives a glimpse into life in New York around the turn of the nineteenth century. Subjects include a walk around the East Side, a ramble in Central Park and the closure of a hotel among others.