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 upper crust life set in the 1850s are highly regarded among scholars of American fiction.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS by Charles Dudley Warner
Short Stories
Christmas Every Day
Turkeys Turning the Tables
The Pony Engine and the Pacific Express
The Pumpkin Glory
Butterflyfutterby and Flutterbybutterfly
Adventures in a Boy's Town
Life in a Boy's Town
Games and Pastimes
Glimpses of the Larger World
The Last of a Boy's Town
A Sleep and a Forgetting
The Eidolons of Brooks Alford
A Memory that Worked Overtime
A Case of Metaphantasmia
Editha
Braybridge's Offer
The Chick of the Easter Egg
A Daughter of the Storage
A Presentiment
Captain Dunlevy's Last Trip
The Return to Favor
Somebody'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 Fearful Responsibility
At the Sign of the Savage
Tonelli's Marriage
Buying a Horse
Reminiscences and Autobiography
A Boy's Town
Years of My Youth
Gathering more than forty tales, including sketches of adult manners and fables for children, The Complete Short Stories of William Dean Howells presents a broad map of American literary realism. Howells favors lucid prose, quiet irony, and ethical observation over sensational plot, locating drama in conversation, social embarrassment, work, marriage, and childhood imagination. The illustrations further recall the nineteenth-century magazine culture in which many such stories first circulated. William Dean Howells, often called the Dean of American Letters, brought to fiction the habits of an editor, critic, and democratic observer. As editor of The Atlantic Monthly and later a central figure at Harper's, he championed Tolstoy, Twain, and James while arguing that literature should represent ordinary lives truthfully. His Ohio upbringing, journalistic discipline, and reformist sympathies shaped these humane, socially attentive narratives. This volume is recommended to readers who want more than a sampler: it offers Howells's range, his moral intelligence, and his importance to the short-story tradition. Scholars, students, and general readers will find in these pieces a subtle archive of American speech, conscience, domestic life, and imaginative instruction for the young. This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience. - A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions. - The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing. - A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era-social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation. - A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists. - A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths. - Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts. - Lastly, our hand-picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Klappentext
This carefully crafted ebook: "The Complete Short Stories of William Dean Howells: 40+ Tales & Children's Stories (Illustrated)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. 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 upper crust life set in the 1850s are highly regarded among scholars of American fiction. Table of Contents: Introduction WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS by Charles Dudley Warner Short Stories Christmas Every Day Turkeys Turning the Tables The Pony Engine and the Pacific Express The Pumpkin Glory Butterflyfutterby and Flutterbybutterfly Adventures in a Boy's Town Life in a Boy's Town Games and Pastimes Glimpses of the Larger World The Last of a Boy's Town A Sleep and a Forgetting The Eidolons of Brooks Alford A Memory that Worked Overtime A Case of Metaphantasmia Editha Braybridge's Offer The Chick of the Easter Egg A Daughter of the Storage A Presentiment Captain Dunlevy's Last Trip The Return to Favor Somebody'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 Fearful Responsibility At the Sign of the Savage Tonelli's Marriage Buying a Horse Reminiscences and Autobiography A Boy's Town Years of My Youth