William Dean Howells

A devoted husband and father, fairly decent employer, and mostly honest businessman, Silas Lapham has used his father's small paint company to amass a large fortune. But he yearns to “enter society” and for his two daughters, Penelope and Irene, to marry well. However, blue-blooded Tom Corey's love for one of the Lapham daughters is thwarted by his mother, who believes Penelope is an overly independent social climber. Meanwhile, Silas's efforts...