Monatsarchive: März 2021

New Leaf Mills – William Dean Howells

Mr. Howells would, we imagine, be the last person in the world to suppose that, in “New Leaf Mills,” he had produced a work in any way comparable with his own masterpieces. But, slight as the new story is, it has all the charm of his inimitable style, and exhales all the sweetness of the personality which has made him the most beloved of our men of letters. He has simply gone back to the time of his Ohio boyhood sixty years ago, and fished out of his recollections the materials for a picture of the way in which simple people then lived on what was then the western fringe of our civilization. … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Imaginary Interviews – William Dean Howells

Mr. Howells’s philosophy in these Easy Chair essays is distinctly of the inclusive order, and the wide range of subjects treated is indicated by the following titles from the thirty-odd that make up the volume: ” The Practices and Precepts of Vaudeville,” “The Superiority of Inferiors,” ” Unimportance of Women in Republics,” “The Quality of Boston and the Quantity of New York.” Surely Mr. Howells has taken the earth for his possession; but has he not gone up and down in it for seventy-odd years? It is his right to speak and our privilege to listen.

Imaginary Interviews.

Format: eBook.

Imaginary Interviews.

ISBN: 9783849657864

Excerpt from the text:

I. THE RESTORATION OF

Seven English Cities – William Dean Howells

To travel with Mr. Howells would indeed be the perfection of journeying, and it is hard to suppress a pang of envy for any friend whom he happens to refer to as his companion. But, fortunately, Mr. Howells has that grace with his pen which includes himself among the realities he presents, and makes the illusion of listening to him, instead of reading, quite easy. In “Seven English Cities” he is as gossipy and entertaining as ever. Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield receive his first attention ; and he insists that in spite of the cavalier treatment these places usually receive from travelers, they are ” worthy to be seen and known.” A doubt … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Fennel And Rue – William Dean Howells

A young New York novelist receives a letter from a girl asking for the solution of a serial story he is writing, for she is so ill that she does not believe she will live to finish it. His publishers answer the letter in good faith only to find out that it was all a girlish prank. The vanity wounded author writes her a scathing letter. Later at a Long Island house-party he meets her, as she is the hostess’s paid assistant to entertain the guests. The unspoken love story that ensues ends most unexpectedly. Mr. Howells’s delicate satire and pungent irony is nowhere more apparent than in this skeleton romance. He sees … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Roman Holidays And Others – William Dean Howells

With that genially serious attention to minute details, that humorous circumstantiality in treating the commonplace, which we have all come to know so well and to like (or dislike) so heartily in Mr. Howells, he has filled a substantial volume with his easily-flowing narrative of a Mediterranean vacation journey, naming his book ‘Roman Holidays and Others.’ The first landing of his party was made at Madeira, whence they proceeded to Gibraltar, and then to Genoa, Naples, Rome, Leghorn, Pisa, Genoa again, and Monte Carlo. The style of the narrative – if it is necessary to indicate it at all – is well illustrated by the opening words of the second chapter: “There … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Through The Eye Of A Needle – William Dean Howells

It is safe to say that Mr. Howells would rather have this book judged as a study in sociology than as a novel of no matter how deep a romantic interest. The earnestness with which the subject has been studied obviously supplements a habit of observation that is conscious and trained. Perhaps, then, it were best to say in the beginning that Mr. Howells’ book has two distinct attributes, between which it is a difficult matter to judge in respect to value: the fine literary quality is so wonderfully pervasive that the reader is con strained to label this a romance of distinction and interest; On the other hand, the … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Between The Dark And The Daylight – William Dean Howells

Mr. Howells dips into psychological twilight in this volume of short stories. They are queer and creepy without being exactly supernatural. In “Editha” there is a war story of a new kind, although its heroine is the same old, inconsequent and exasperating girl that Mr. Howells has drawn for so many years, he could probably do it with his eyes shut by this time. “It all interested her intensely; she was undergoing a tremendous experience and she was being equal to it!” And so with the egotistic cruelty of youth she sends her lover to his death and has to face his mother afterward. The other tales are less tragic, … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Certain Delightful English Towns – William Dean Howells

A companion volume to ‘London Films’, in which Mr. Howells writes of Bath, Oxford, Canterbury and other delightful English towns, with glimpses of the country in between. The author catches the true spirit and dominant tone of each locality, and he regales the reader with various little adventures along the road. Mr. Howells is especially alert for details that link English history with our own, and have a special interest for the American traveler.

Certain Delightful English Towns.

Format: eBook.

Certain Delightful English Towns.

ISBN: 9783849657802

Excerpt from the text:

No American, complexly speaking, finds himself in England for the first time, unless he is one of those many Americans who … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

London Films – William Dean Howells

In ‘London Films’ Mr. Howells certainly maintains his deserved reputation. His delightful essays are characterized by a genial sympathy quite unlike any other author’s of the present time. It is this sympathy with his subject that gives the charm to the book. There is a broad indefiniteness or lack of mathematical accuracy that gives a pleasing literary tone to the book. He writes of the royal family, its movements and customs, although confessing the royal family has rarely come his way. Mr. Howells is decidedly pro-British. In many respects they excel us. He calls the appearance of the English dames authorized rather than authoritative, and says the dignity of the old people of both … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...

Miss Bellard’s Inspiration – William Dean Howells

‘Miss Bellard’s Inspiration’ has a charm altogether out of proportion to its pretensions. It is no more than a novelette in dimensions, and its story is of the simplest. but displays in the telling a very delicate art. There are six people concerned – Miss Ballard and her ¿ancé, the aunt and uncle with whom they spend a few days in the country, and a married couple who are their guests by chance. This couple proves to be singularly mismated, and the spectacle afforded by their bickerings so alarms the heroine that she discards her lover, lest some such future may be in store for them also. She speaks by way of explanation, … Read more.../Mehr lesen ...