William Dean Howells

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Published in two volumes, Howells's studies in the great heroines of nineteenth century English-language fiction make delightful reading. This first volume takes the reader from Fanny Burney's unforgettable Evelina to the Bronte sisters' remarkable Jane and Catherine. Along the way, female protagonists from the works of Edgeworth, Austen, Radcliffe, Scott, Dickens, Hawthorne, and Thackeray, among others, are closely and keenly observed.

In addition to his eminence as a novelist, William Dean Howells was a prominent figure in the development of the American theater. He wrote the play, “A Counterfeit Presentment” in 1877. The comedy develops a slightly romantic and dramatic side as it follows the two main characters, Barlett and Cummings.

Basil and Isabel March first appeared in Howells's Their Wedding Journey, which followed the newly married couple as they traveled to Niagara Falls on their honeymoon. Here, Howells returns to the March marriage as they revisit Hamburg, Carlsbad, Weimar, Leipzig, and Berlin-the cities of their youthful courtship.

Out of a mere thread of a plot and a few characters Mr. Howells weaves a very charming little comedy. His characters consist of Miss Constance Wyatt, her father and mother, a Mr. Bartlett, a painter and his friend Rev. Arthur Cummings. The scene opens in the parlor of the Ponkwasset Hotel, the time being in the fall, and the house almost deserted by boarders. Mr. Bartlett and his friend are in the midst of a discussion of Mr. Bartlett's affairs, when...

Some of William Dean Howells's best fiction examines the contrast between different manners or levels of sophistication, a subject made familiar to him in part by his sojourn as an American in Italy. This collection of stories shows American and Italian manners in conflict, drawing on Howells's own experiences as a diplomat in Venice.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Howells was appointed United States consul in Venice, Italy. In Venetian Life, an utterly engaging travelogue, Howells revises a series of travel letters he had written about his experiences in Venice for the Boston Advertiser. Honest in its love for (yet discomfort in) Venice, it would be followed by Italian Journeys.

William Dean Howells frequently drew on his Midwestern childhood for his fiction. Based on an incident in Ohio that had always fascinated him, The Leatherwood God tells the intriguing tale of how a charlatan named Joseph Dylks, claiming to be a messenger of God (or even God himself), exploited the pious townspeople, split their devout community in two, and then disappeared.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Standard Household-Effect Company (from Literature and Life)" by William Dean Howells. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves...

Annie Kilburn, a New Englander, desperately tries to save her hometown from the negative effects of industrialization and eventually realizes that what they truly need is justice. Annie Kilburn reflects Howells's deepening disillusionment with American society.