William Dean Howells (; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', as well as for his own prolific writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novels ''

The Rise of Silas Lapham ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' and '' A Traveler from Altruria''.

Biography

Early life and family

William Dean Howells was born on March 1, 1837, in Martinsville, Ohio (now known as

Martins Ferry, Ohio Martins Ferry is a city in Belmont County, Ohio, United States, on the Ohio River across from Wheeling, West Virginia. It is the largest city in Belmont County. The population was 6,915 as of the 2010 census. It is most known as the birth place o ...

), to William Cooper Howells and Mary Dean Howells, the second of eight children. His father was a newspaper editor and printer who moved frequently around

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. In 1840, the family settled in Hamilton, Ohio,Lynn, 36 where his father oversaw a Whig newspaper and followed Swedenborgianism. Their nine years there were the longest period that they stayed in one place. The family had to live frugally, although the young Howells was encouraged by his parents in his literary interests. He began at an early age to help his father with typesetting and printing work, a job known at the time as a

printer's devil A printer's devil was a young apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including Ambrose Bierce, Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain served ...

. In 1852, his father arranged to have one of his poems published in the ''Ohio State Journal'' without telling him.

Early career

In 1856, Howells was elected as a clerk in the State House of Representatives. In 1858, he began to work at the ''Ohio State Journal'' where he wrote poetry and short stories, and also translated pieces from French, Spanish, and German. He avidly studied German and other languages and was greatly interested in Heinrich Heine. In 1860, he visited

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and met with writers James T. Fields,

James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell (; February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that ...

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most fa ...

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

, Henry David Thoreau, and

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

. He became a personal friend to many of them, including

Henry Adams Henry Brooks Adams (February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918) was an American historian and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. Presidents. As a young Harvard graduate, he served as secretary to his father, Charles Fr ...

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

, and

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the Un ...

In 1860 Howells wrote

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

's campaign biography ''Life of Abraham Lincoln'' and subsequently gained a consulship in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. He married Elinor Mead on Christmas Eve 1862 at the American embassy in Paris. She was a sister of sculptor

Larkin Goldsmith Mead Larkin Goldsmith Mead, Jr. (January 3, 1835 – October 15, 1910) was an American sculpture, sculptor who worked in a Neoclassicism, neoclassical style. Career He was born at Chesterfield, New Hampshire, the son of a prominent lawyer. A coloss ...

and architect

William Rutherford Mead William Rutherford Mead (August 20, 1846 – June 19, 1928) was an American architect who was the "Center of the Office" of McKim, Mead, and White, a noted Gilded Age architectural firm.Baker, Paul R. ''Stanny'' The firm's other founding pa ...

of the firm

McKim, Mead, and White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), W ...

. Among their children was architect

John Mead Howells John Mead Howells, (; August 14, 1868 – September 22, 1959), was an American architect. Early life and education Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of author William Dean Howells, he earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard Unive ...

Editorship and other literary pursuits

The Howells returned to America in 1865 and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He wrote for various magazines, including ''

'' and '' Harper's Magazine''. In January 1866, James Fields offered him a position as assistant editor at ''The Atlantic Monthly''; he accepted after successfully negotiating for a higher salary, though he was frustrated by Fields' close supervision. Howells was made editor in 1871, after five years as assistant editor, and he remained in this position until 1881. In 1869, he met Mark Twain with whom he formed a longtime friendship. But his relationship with journalist

Jonathan Baxter Harrison Jonathan Baxter Harrison (April 5, 1835 – June 17, 1907), was a Unitarian minister and journalist who was involved in many of the social causes of his day: abolitionism, Indian rights, forest preservation, and the cultural improvement of ...

was more important for the development of his literary style and his advocacy of

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

. Harrison wrote a series of articles for ''The Atlantic Monthly'' during the 1870s on the lives of ordinary Americans. Howells gave a series of twelve lectures on "Italian Poets of Our Century" for the

Lowell Institute The Lowell Institute is a United States educational foundation located in Boston, Massachusetts, providing both free public lectures, and also advanced lectures. It was endowed by a bequest of $250,000 left by John Lowell Jr., who died in 1836. ...

during its 1870–71 season. He published his first novel ''Their Wedding Journey'' in 1872, but his literary reputation soared with the realist novel '' A Modern Instance'' (1882), which described the decay of a marriage. His 1885 novel ''

'' became his best known work, describing the rise and fall of an American entrepreneur of the paint business. His social views were also strongly represented in the novels ''Annie Kilburn'' (1888), '' A Hazard of New Fortunes'' (1890), and '' An Imperative Duty'' (1891). He was particularly outraged by the trials resulting from the

Haymarket Riot The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in ...

, which led him to portray a similar riot in '' A Hazard of New Fortunes'' and to write publicly to protest the trials of the men allegedly involved in the

Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square i ...

. In his public writing and in his novels, he drew attention to pressing social issues of the time. He joined the Anti-Imperialist League in 1898, in opposition to the U.S. annexation of the Philippines. His poems were collected in 1873 and 1886, and a volume was published in 1895 under the title '' Stops of Various Quills''. He was the initiator of the school of American realists, and he had little sympathy with any other type of fiction. However, he frequently encouraged new writers in whom he discovered new ideas or new fictional techniques, such as

Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...

Frank Norris Benjamin Franklin Norris Jr. (March 5, 1870 – October 25, 1902) was an American journalist and novelist during the Progressive Era, whose fiction was predominantly in the naturalist genre. His notable works include '' McTeague: A Story of San ...

Hamlin Garland Hannibal Hamlin Garland (September 14, 1860 – March 4, 1940) was an American novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer, Georgist, and psychical researcher. He is best known for his fiction involving hard-working Midwestern farmers. Biogra ...

Harold Frederic Harold Frederic (August 19, 1856 – October 19, 1898) was an American journalist and novelist. His works include '' In the Valley'' (1890), ''The Damnation of Theron Ware'' (1896), and '' The Market Place'' (1899). Life and career Harold Henry ...

Abraham Cahan Abraham "Abe" Cahan (Yiddish: אַבֿרהם קאַהאַן; July 7, 1860 – August 31, 1951) was a Lithuanian-born Jewish American socialist newspaper editor, novelist, and politician. Cahan was one of the founders of ''The Forward'' (), ...

Sarah Orne Jewett Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett (September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909) was an American novelist, short story writer and poet, best known for her local color works set along or near the southern coast of Maine. Jewett is recognized as an important ...

, and

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

Later years

In 1902, Howells published '' The Flight of Pony Baker'', a book for children partly inspired by his own childhood. That same year, he bought a summer home overlooking the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River. The drainage basin of the river ...

Kittery Point, Maine Kittery Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Kittery, Maine, Kittery, York County, Maine, York County, Maine, United States. First settled in 1623, Kittery Point traces its history to the first seafarers who c ...

. He returned there annually until Elinor's death when he left the house to his son and family and moved to a house in York Harbor. His grandson, John Noyes Mead Howells, donated the property to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

as a memorial in 1979. In 1904 he was one of the first seven people chosen for membership in the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

, of which he became president. In February 1910, Elinor Howells began using

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

to treat her worsening

neuritis Neuritis () is inflammation of a nerve or the general inflammation of the peripheral nervous system. Inflammation, and frequently concomitant demyelination, cause impaired transmission of neural signals and leads to aberrant nerve function. Neuri ...

. She died on May 6, a few days after her birthday, and only two weeks after the death of Howells's friend Mark Twain. Henry James offered his condolences, writing, "I think of this laceration of your life with an infinite sense of all it will mean for you". Howells and his daughter Mildred decided to spend part of the year in their Cambridge home on Concord Avenue; though, without Elinor, they found it "dreadful in its ghostliness and ghastliness". Howells died in his sleep shortly after midnight on May 11, 1920, and was buried in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Eight years later his daughter published his correspondence as a biography of his literary life.

Literary criticism

In addition to his own creative works, Howells also wrote criticism, and essays about contemporary literary figures such as Henrik Ibsen,

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

Giovanni Verga Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian realist ('' verista'') writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the short story and later play ''Cavalleria ...

, Benito Pérez Galdós, and, especially,

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, which helped establish their reputations in the United States. He also wrote critically in support of American writers

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman,

Charles W. Chesnutt Charles Waddell Chesnutt (June 20, 1858 – November 15, 1932) was an American author, essayist, political activist and lawyer, best known for his novels and short stories exploring complex issues of racial and social identity in the post-Ci ...

Madison Cawein Madison Julius Cawein (March 23, 1865 – December 8, 1914) was a poet from Louisville, Kentucky. Biography Madison Julius Cawein was born in Louisville, Kentucky on March 23, 1865, the fifth child of William and Christiana (Stelsly) Cawein. His ...

, and

. It is perhaps in this role that he had his greatest influence. In his "Editor's Study" column at ''The Atlantic Monthly'' and, later, at ''Harper's'', he formulated and disseminated his theories of "realism" in literature. Howells viewed realism as "nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material." In defense of the real, as opposed to the ideal, he wrote,

"I hope the time is coming when not only the artist, but the common, average man, who always 'has the standard of the arts in his power,' will have also the courage to apply it, and will reject the ideal grasshopper wherever he finds it, in science, in literature, in art, because it is not 'simple, natural, and honest,' because it is not like a real grasshopper. But I will own that I think the time is yet far off, and that the people who have been brought up on the ideal grasshopper, the heroic grasshopper, the impassioned grasshopper, the self-devoted, adventureful, good old romantic card-board grasshopper, must die out before the simple, honest, and natural grasshopper can have a fair field."

Howells believed the future of American writing was not in poetry but in novels, a form which he saw shifting from "romance" to a serious form. Howells was a

Christian socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

whose ideals were greatly influenced by Russian writer

. He joined a Christian socialist group in Boston between 1889 and 1891 and attended several churches, including the First Spiritual Temple and the Church of the Carpenter, the latter being affiliated with the Episcopal Church and the Society of Christian Socialists. These influences led him to write on issues of

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

from a moral and

egalitarian Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...

point of view, being critic of the social effects of

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

capitalism. He was, however, not a Marxist.

Reception

Noting the "documentary" and truthful value of Howells's work,

wrote, "Stroke by stroke and book by book your work was to become, for this exquisite notation of our whole democratic light and shade and give and take, in the highest degree documentary." The late nineteenth century English novelist

George Gissing George Robert Gissing (; 22 November 1857 – 28 December 1903) was an English novelist, who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. His best-known works have reappeared in modern editions. They include '' The Nether World'' (1889), '' New Gr ...

read two of Howells's works, ''The Shadow of a Dream'' and ''A Fearful Responsibility'', calling the latter "inane triviality".

Bliss Perry Bliss Perry (25 November 1860 – 13 February 1954), was an American literary critic, writer, editor, and teacher. Biography Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts to Arthur Latham Perry, a prominent economist, and Mary Brown Perry. He was ...

considered a knowledge of his work vital for an understanding of the American provincial novel and believed that "he has never in his long career written an insincere, a slovenly, or an infelicitous page."

Gallery

William Dean Howells (ca1870).jpg, William Dean Howells, c. 1870. File:William Dean Howells 1906.jpg, Howells, by Van der Weyde, 1906. File:William Dean Howells in 1866.jpg, William Dean Howells in 1866. File:William Dean Howells 1887.jpg, Howells in 1887. William Dean Howells grave.jpg, Grave of William Dean Howells, in Cambridge Cemetery.

Works

* ''Lives and Speeches of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin'' (New York, W. A. Townsend & Co.; Columbus, Follett, Foster & co., 1860). * ''Venetian Life'' (London: N. Trübner & Co., 1866; later American edition with additional cancels: New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1866). * ''Italian Journeys'' (New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1867). * "No Love Lost," ''Putnam's Magazine'', Vol. 2 (new series), No. 12, pp. 641–51 (December 1868). Reprinted as ''No Love Lost. A Romance of Travel'' (New York: G.P. Putnam & Son, 1869). * ''Suburban Sketches'' (New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1871). * ''Their Wedding Journey'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1872). * ''A Chance Acquaintance'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1873). * ''Sketch of the Life and Character of Rutherford B. Hayes'' (New York & Boston: Hurd and Houghton, 876. * ''A Foregone Conclusion'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1875). * ''A Day's Pleasure'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1876). * ''The Parlor Car: A Farce'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood, 1876) (originally published in the ASeptember 1876 issue of ''Atlantic Monthly''). * '' A Counterfeit Presentment: A Comedy'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1877). * ''Out of the Question'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1877). * '' The Lady of The Aroostook'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1879). The following were written during his residence in England and in Italy, as was ''The Rise of Silas Lapham'' in 1885. * ''The Undiscovered Country'' (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1880). * '' A Modern Instance: A Novel'' (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1881). * ''A Fearful Responsibility'' and Other Stories (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1881) (in addition to the title story: "At the Sign of the Savage" and "Tonelli's Marriage"). * '' Dr. Breen's Practice: A Novel'' (Boston & New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1881). * ''A Day's Pleasure, and Other Sketches'' (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1881) (in addition to title story: "Buying a Horse," "Flitting," "The Mouse" and "A Year in a Venetian Palace"). * ''Out of the Question; and, At the Sign of the Savage'' (Edinburgh: D. Douglas, 1882) (The first story was first published in the February–April 1877 issue of ''Atlantic Monthly''). * ''A Woman's Reason: A Novel'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co.,

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in t ...

1883). * '' The Sleeping Car: A Farce'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1883). * '' Niagara Revisited 12 Years after their Wedding Journey by the Hoosac Tunnel Route'' (Chicago: D. Dalziel, 1884) (Revision of piece from May 1883 issue of ''Atlantic Monthly''). * ''Three Villages'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1884). * ''The Register: A Farce'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1884). * ''Tuscan Cities'' (Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1884). * ''

'' (Boston: Ticknor & Co., 1885). * ''A Sea-Change, or, Love's Stowaway: A Comic Opera in Two Acts and an Epilogue'' (London: Trübner & Co.; Boston: A.P. Schmidt & Co., c1884). * ''Poems'' (Boston: Ticknor, 1885). * ''The Elevator: A Farce'' (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1885; 0James R. Osgood, c1886). He returned to the United States in 1886. He wrote various types of works, including fiction, poetry, and farces, of which '' The Sleeping Car, The Mouse-Trap, The Elevator''; ''Christmas Every Day''; and ''Out of the Question'' are characteristic. * ''

Indian Summer An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or more s ...

'' (Boston: Ticknor & Co. 1885). * ''The Garroters: A Farce'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1886). * '' The Minister's Charge: or The Apprenticeship of Lemuel Barker'' (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1886). * ''Modern Italian Poets: Essays and Versions'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1887). * ''April Hopes: A Novel'' (Edinburgh: David Douglas 1887; New York: Harper & Brothers, 1888). * with Thomas Sergeant Ferry (eds.), ''Library of Universal Adventure by Sea and Land including Original Narratives and Authentic Stories of Personal Prowess and Peril in All the Waters and Regions of the Globe from the Year 79 A.D. to the Year 1888 A.D.'' (New York: Harper & Bros., 1888). * ''A Sea-Change: or, Love's Stowaway, a Lyricated Farce in Two Acts and an Epilogue'' (Boston: Ticknor & Company, 1888). * with Mark Twain and Charles Hopkins Clark (comps.), ''

Mark Twain's Library of Humor ''Mark Twain's Library of Humor'' is an 1888 anthology of short humorous works compiled by Mark Twain, pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, William Dean Howells and Charles Hopkins Clark. In 1880, George Gebbie suggested to Mark Twain that he ...

'' (New York: Charles L. Webster & Co., 1888). * ''The Mouse-Trap and Other Farces'' (New York: Harper, 1889) (in addition to the title farce:''The Garotters'', ''Five o'Clock Tea'', and ''A Likely Story''). * ''Annie Kilburn: A Novel'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1889). * '' A Hazard of New Fortunes: A Novel'' (New York: Harper & Brothers / (Harper's Franklin square library: new ser, no. 661. Extra, Nov. 1889)). * ''The Shadow of a Dream: A Story'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1890). * ''A Boy's Town: described for "Harper's Young People"'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1890). * '' An Imperative Duty'' (Author's ed.: Edinburgh: D. Douglas / (David Douglas' series of American authors, 54) 1891). * ''Criticism and Fiction'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1891). * ''The Quality of Mercy'' (New York; London: Harper, 1891). * ''The Albany Depot'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1892 .e.1891. * ''A Little Swiss Sojourn'' (New York: Harper & Brothers / (Harper's black & white series), 1892). * ''A Letter of Introduction: Farce'' (New York: Harper & Brothers / (Harper's black and white series), 1892). * ''The World of Chance'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893). * ''The Unexpected Guest'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893). * ''My Year in a Log Cabin'' (New York: Harper & Brothers / (Harper's black and white series), 1893). * ''Christmas Every Day and Other Stories Told to Children'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893). * ''The Coast of Bohemia: A Novel'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893). * ''Evening Dress: A Farce'' (New York: Harper & Brothers / (Harper's black and white series), 1893). * '' A Traveler from Altruria: Romance'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1894). * ''My Literary Passions'' (New York: Harper, 1895). * '' Stops of Various Quills'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1895). * ''A Parting and a Meeting: Story'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1896). * ''Impressions and Experiences'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1896) (consisting of "The Country Printer," "Police Report," "I Talk of Dreams," "An East-Side Ramble," "Tribulations of a Cheerful Giver," "The Closing of the Hotel," "Glimpses of Central Park" and "New York Streets"). * ''Stories of Ohio'' (New York, Cincinnati: American Book Co., 1897). * '' The Landlord At Lion's Head'' (Edinburg: David Douglas, 1897). * ''An Open-Eyed Conspiracy: An Idyl of Saratoga'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1897). * ''A Previous Engagement: Comedy'' (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1897). * ''The Story of a Play: A Novel'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1898). * ''Ragged Lady: A Novel'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1899). * ''Their Silver Wedding Journey'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1899). * ''An Indian Giver: A Comedy'' (Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1900). * ''Bride Roses: A Scene'' (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1900

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

. * ''Literary Friends and Acquaintance: A Personal Retrospect of American Authorship'' (New York, Harper & Brothers, 1900). * ''Doorstep Acquaintance, and Other Sketches'' (Cambridge, Mass.: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1900) (in addition to title story: "Tonelli's Marriage," "A Romance of Real Life" and "At Padua"). * ''Room Forty-Five: A Farce'' (Boston, New York, Houghton, Mifflin, 1900). * ''A Pair of Patient Lovers'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1901). * ''Heroines of Fiction'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1901). * ''The Kentons: A Novel'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1902). * ''The Flight of Pony Baker: A Boy's Town Story'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1902). * ''Literature and Life: Studies'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1902) (consisting of the following essays: "The Man of Letters as a Man of Business," "Worries of a Winter Walk," "Confessions of a Summer Colonist," "The Editor's Relations with the Young Contributor," "Summer Isles of Eden," "Wild Flowers of the Asphalt, "Last Days in a Dutch Hotel," "Some Anomalies of the Short Story," "A Circus in the Suburbs," "A She Hamlet," "Spanish Prisoners of War," "The Midnight Platoon," "The Beach at Rockaway," "American Literary Centres," "Sawdust in the Arena," "At a Dime Museum," "American Literature in Exile," "The Horse Show," "The Problem of the Summer," "Esthetic New York Fhty-Odd Years Ago," "From New York into New England," "The Standard Household-Effect Company," "Staccato Notes of a Vanished Summer," "The Art of the Adsmith," "The Psychology of Plagiarism," "Puritanism in American Fiction," "The What and the How in Art," "Politics of American Authors," "Storage' and "'Floating Down the River on the O-hi-o'"). * ''Letters Home'' (New York, London, Harper & Brothers, 1903). * ''Questionable Shapes'' (New York, London, Harper & Brothers, 1903) (consisting of "His Apparition," "The Angel of the Lord" and "Though One Rose from the Dead). * ''The Son of Royal Langbrith: A Novel'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1904). * ''Miss Bellard's Inspiration: A Novel'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1905). * ''London Films'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1905). * ''Braybridge's Offer'' in William Dean Howells & Henry Mills Alden (eds.), ''Quaint Courtships: Harper's Novelettes'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers,

906 __NOTOC__ Year 906 ( CMVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February 27 – Battle of Fritzlar: The Conradines defeat the Babenberg co ...

. * ''The Amigo'' in William Dean Howells & Henry Mills Alden (eds.), ''The Heart of Childhood: Harper's Novelettes'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1906). * ''Editha'' in William Dean Howells & Henry Mills Alden (eds.), ''Different Girls: Harper's Novelettes'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1906). * ''The Mulberries in Pay's Garden'' (Cincinnati: Western Literary Press, 1906). * ''Certain Delightful English Towns with Glimpses of the Pleasant Country Between'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1906). * ''Between the Dark and the Daylight: Romances'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1907) (consisting of: "A Sleep and a Forgetting," "The Eidolons of Brooks Alford," "A Memory that Worked Overtime," "A Case of Metaphantasmia," "Editha," "Braybridge’s Offer" and "The Chick of the Easter Egg"). * '' Through the Eye of the Needle: A Romance'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1907). * ''Roman Holiday and Others'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1908) (in addition to the title piece: ""Up and Down Medeira," "The Up-Town Blocks into Spain," "Ashore at Genoa," "Naples and Her Joyful Noise," "Pompeii Revisited," "A Week at Leghorn," "Over at Pisa," "Back at Genoa" and "Eden After the Fall"). * '' The Whole Family: A Novel by Twelve Authors'' (co-written) (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1908). * ''Fennel and Rue: A Novel'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1908). * ''Seven English Cities'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1909). * ''The Mother and Father: Dramatic Passages'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1909). * ''My Mark Twain: Reminiscences and Criticisms'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1910). * ''Imaginary Interviews'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1910) (consisting of the following essays: "The Restoration of the Easy Chair by Way of Introduction, "A Year of Spring and a Life of Youth," "Sclerosis of the Tastes," "The Practices and Precepts of Vaudeville," "Intimations of Italian Opera," "The Superiority of Our Inferiors," "Unimportance of Women in Republics," "Having Just Got Home," "New York to the Home-Comer's Eye," "Cheapness of the Costliest City on Earth," "Ways and Means of Living in New York," "The Quality of Boston and the Quantity of New York," "The Whirl of Life in Our First Circles," "The Magazine Muse," "Comparative Luxuries of Travel," "Qualities without Defects," "A Wasted Opportunity," "A Niece's Literary Advice to Her Uncle," "A Search for Celebrity," "Practical Immortality on Earth," "Around a Rainy-Day Fire," "The Advantages of Quotational Criticism," "Reading for a Grandfather," "Some Moments with the Muse," "A Normal Hero and Heroine Out of Work," "Autumn in the Country and City," "Personal and Epistolary Addresses," "Dressing for Hotel Dinner," "The Counsel of Literary Age to Literary Youth," "The Unsatisfactoriness of Unfriendly Criticism," "The Fickleness of Age," "The Renewal of Inspiration," "The Summer Sojourn of Florindo and Lindora," "To Have the Honor of Meeting" and "A Day at Bronx Park"). * "A Counsel of Consolation" in ''In After Days: Thoughts on the Future Life'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1910). * ''Parting Friends: A Farce'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1911). * ''New Leaf Mills: A Chronicle'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1913). * ''Familiar Spanish Travels'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1913). * ''Seen and Unseen at Stratford-upon-Avon: A Fantasy'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1914). * ''The Leatherwood God'' (New York: The Century Co., 1916). * ''The Daughter of the Storage, and Other Things in Prose and Verse'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1916) (in addition to the title story: "A Presentiment," "Captain Dunlevy's Last Trip," "The Return to FavorSomebody's Mother," "The Face at the Window," "An Experience," "The Boarders," "Breakfast Is My Best Meal," "The Mother-Bird," "The Amigo," "Black Cross Farm," "The Critical Bookstore," "A Feast of Reason," "City and Country in the Fall," "Table Talk," "The Escapade of a Grandfather," "Self-sacrifice: A Farce-tragedy" and "The Night before Christmas"). * ''Years of My Youth'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1916). * "Eighty Years and After," ''Harper's Monthly Magazine'', Vol. CXL, No. DCCXXXV (December 1919), pp. 21–28. * ''The Vacation of the Kelwyns: An Idyl of the Middle Eighteen-Seventies'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1920). * ''Hither and Thither in Germany'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1920). * ''Mrs. Farrell: A Farce'' (New York, London: Harper & Brothers, 1921) (first printed as "Private Theatricals art I" ''Atlantic Monthly'', Vol. XXXVI, No. CCXVII (November 1875), pp. 513–22 and "Private Theatricals art II" ''Atlantic Monthly'', Vol. XXXVI, Nol. CCXVIII (December 1875), pp. 674–87).

Notes

References

* * * Fryckstedt, Olov W. 1958. ''In Quest of America: A Study of Howells' Early Development as a Novelist''. Uppsala, Sweden: Thesis. * Goodman, Susan and Carl Dawson. ''William Dean Howells: A Writer's Life''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. * Lynn, Kenneth S. ''William Dean Howells: An American Life''. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1970. * Olsen, Rodney. ''Dancing in Chains: The Youth of William Dean Howells''. New York: New York University Press, 1991.

External links

* * *
Essays by William Dean Howells at Quotidiana.org

William Dean Howells Society
includes a biographical sketch of Howells, links to his works (including the "Editor's Study" columns), questions and replies, bibliographies, and pictures.

* Finding aid to th
Clara and Rudolf Kirk collection of William Dean Howells material
at th
University of Pennsylvania Libraries
*
Finding aid to William Dean Howells papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howells, William Dean 1837 births 1920 deaths 19th-century American essayists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American novelists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American anti-capitalists American Christian socialists American literary critics American male essayists American male dramatists and playwrights American male novelists The Atlantic (magazine) people Journalists from Ohio Novelists from Massachusetts Novelists from Ohio People from Hamilton, Ohio People from Martins Ferry, Ohio Presidents of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts Place of death missing

Biography

Early life and family

Early career

Editorship and other literary pursuits

Later years

Literary criticism

Reception

Gallery

Works

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links