William Dean Howells
Overview
 
William Dean Howells was an American realist
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...

 author and literary critic. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of the Atlantic Monthly as well as his own writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novel The Rise of Silas Lapham
The Rise of Silas Lapham
The Rise of Silas Lapham is a realistic novel written by William Dean Howells in 1885 about the materialistic rise of Silas Lapham from rags to riches, and his ensuing moral susceptibility. Silas earns a fortune in the paint business, but he lacks social standards, which he tries to attain through...

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Born in Martins Ferry, Ohio
Martins Ferry, Ohio
During the census of 2000, there were 7,226 people, 3,202 households, and 1,959 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,345.1 people per square mile . There were 3,680 housing units at an average density of 1,703.6 per square mile...

, originally Martinsville, to William Cooper and Mary Dean Howells, Howells was the second of eight children.
Quotations

Lord, for the erring thoughtNot into evil wrought:Lord, for the wicked willBetrayed and baffled still:For the heart from itself kept,Our thanksgiving accept.

A Thanksgiving

And before you know me goneEternity and I are one.

Time

Her mouth is a honey-blossom,No doubt, as the poet sings;But within her lips, the petals,Lurks a cruel bee that stings.

The Sarcastic Fair

He who sleeps in continual noise is wakened by silence.

Pordenone, IV

See how today's achievement is only tomorrow's confusion;See how possession always cheapens the thing that was precious.

Pordenone, IV

The mortality of all inanimate things is terrible to me, but that of books most of all.

Letter to Charles Eliot Norton (April 6, 1903)

 
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