A Hazard of New Fortunes
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Introduction
PART FIRST
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
PART SECOND
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
PART THIRD
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
PART FOURTH
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
PART FIFTH
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
FOR THE BEST IN PAPERBACKS, LOOK FOR THE
A HAZARD OF NEW FORTUNES
Arguably the most influential man of letters in the turn of the century United States and a great promoter of literary realism, William Dean Howells (1837-1920) began his career as a journalist at the Ohio State Journal while still in his teens. The cleverness, wit, and explicit political engagement of his work quickly earned him professional success, and his poetry, stories, and reviews began appearing in a number of leading magazines in the country. His campaign biography of Abraham Lincoln, compiled in 1860, coupled with his militant liberalism prompted the administration to offer him the consulship in Venice, a post he held from 1861 to 1865. Upon his return from Europe, Howells came onboard the Atlantic Monthly, eventually becoming editor-in-chief of the magazine. In this position he closely worked with many writers, among them Mark Twain and Henry James. Howells’ enormous literary output ranged from poetry and journalism to full-blown novels, and his position as an enthusiastic exponent of the new realism earned him the respected title of Dean of American letters. Among his many works are such classic novels as A Modern Instance (1882), The Rise of Silas Lapham (1885), and Indian Summer (1886).
Phillip Lopate is an essayist, novelist, poet, and lifelong New Yorker. His essay collections include Bachelorhood, Against Joie de Vivre, and A Portrait of My Body, and he also edited the anthologies Writing New York and The Art of the Personal Essay. His novels are The Rug Merchant and Confessions of Summer. He has published a collection of film criticism, Totally, Tenderly, Tragically. He has been awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and a fellowship at the New York Public Library’s Center for Scholars and Writers, where he is currently completing a study of the New York waterfront. He is Adams Professor of English at Hofstra University.
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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England
First published in Scotland by D. Douglas 1889
First published in the United States of America by Harper & Bros. 1890
This edition with an introduction by Philip Lopate
published in Penguin Books 2001
Introduction copyright © Phillip Lopate, 2001
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920.
A hazard of new fortunes/William Dean Howells; edited and with and
introduction by Philip Lopate.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN : 978-1-440-67267-5
1. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction. 2. Middle aged persons—Fiction. 3. City and
town life—Fiction. 4. Moving, Houshotd—Fiction. 5. Married people—
Fiction. 6. Social Classes—Fiction. I. Lopate, Phillip. II.
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