- William
- Dean
- Howells
- (1837-1920)
- was
- an
- American
- realist
- author
- and
- literary
- critic.
- He
- wrote
- his
- first
- novel,
- Their
- Wedding
- Journey,
- in
- 1871,
- but
- his
- literary
- reputation
- really
- took
- off
- with
- the
- realist
- novel
- A
- Modern
- Instance,
- published
- in
- 1882,
- which
- describes
- the
- decay
- of
- a
- marriage.
- His
- 1885
- novel
- The
- Rise
- of
- Silas
- Lapham
- is
- perhaps
- his
- best
- known,
- describing
- the
- rise
- and
- fall
- of
- an
- American
- entrepreneur
- in
- the
- paint
- business.
- His
- social
- views
- were
- also
- strongly
- reflected
- in
- the
- novels
- Annie
- Kilburn
- (1888)
- and
- A
- Hazard
- of
- New
- Fortunes
- (1890).
- While
- known
- primarily
- as
- a
- novelist,
- his
- short
- story
- "Editha"
- (1905)
- -
- included
- in
- the
- collection
- Between
- the
- Dark
- and
- the
- Daylight
- (1907)
- -
- appears
- in
- many
- anthologies
- of
- American
- literature.
- Howells
- also
- wrote
- plays,
- criticism,
- and
- essays
- about
- contemporary
- literary
- figures
- such
- as
- Ibsen,
- Zola,
- Verga,
- and,
- especially,
- Tolstoy,
- which
- helped
- establish
- their
- reputations
- in
- the
- United
- States.
- He
- also
- wrote
- critically
- in
- support
- of
- many
- American
- writers.
- It
- is
- perhaps
- in
- this
- role
- that
- he
- had
- his
- greatest influence.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
