The Complete Works

William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was an American realist author, literary critic, and playwright. He was known for the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novels The Rise of Silas Lapham and A Traveler from Altruria. This edition includes: A Forgone Conclusion A Chance Acquaintance A Modern Instance A Pair of Patient Lovers A Traveler from Altruria An Open-Eyed Conspiracy Annie Kilburn April Hopes Dr. Breen's Practice Fennel and Rue Indian Summer Questionable Shapes Ragged Lady The Coast of Bohemia The Kentons The Lady of Aroostook The Landlord at Lion's Head The Leatherwood God The Minister's Charge The Quality of Mercy The Rise of Silas Lapham The Story of a Play Through the Eye of the Needle Their Wedding Journey A Hazard of New Fortunes Their Silver Wedding Journey The Flight of Pony Baker Christmas Every Day and Other Stories Boy Life Between the Dark and the Daylight The Daughter of the Storage and Other Things in Prose and Verse A Fearful Responsibility and Other Stories Buying a Horse The Night Before Christmas A Counterfeit Presentment Bride Roses A Likely Story Evening Dress Five O'Clock Tea The Albany Depot The Elevator The Garotters The Parlor Car The Register The Sleeping-Car Poems Venetian Life Italian Journeys Roman Holidays and Others Suburban Sketches Familiar Spanish Travels A Little Swiss Sojourn London Films Seven English Cities Stories of Ohio Criticism and Fiction Literary Friends and Acquaintance Literature and Life My Literary Passions Imaginary Interviews and Other Essays Modern Italian Poets A Psychological Counter-Current in Recent Fiction The Man of Letters as a Man of Business Emile Zola Henry James Carl Schurz A Boy's Town Years of My Youth…

William Dean Howells (1837–1920) was an eminent American realist author and literary critic, often called 'The Dean of American Letters'. He served as editor for the Atlantic Monthly and was an influential figure in American literature during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Howells' work captured the complexities of American life and its social context, using realism as a tool to explore these themes. His landmark work, 'The Rise of Silas Lapham' (1885), is a quintessential example of American realist literature, chronicling the eponymous character's moral and social rise and fall in the business world. Howell's literary style often engaged with ethical dilemmas faced by individuals in the midst of societal changes. Throughout his prolific career, Howells authored numerous novels, plays, and essays, collected in editions such as 'The Complete Works of William Dean Howells.' His influence extended beyond his role as an author, as he supported and befriended fellow writers like Mark Twain and Henry James. Howells' insistence on realism in literature was instrumental in shaping American writing, prompting readers and writers alike to confront the realities of life as they are, rather than through the romantic or sensationalized lens common to earlier eras.