William Dean Howells
89) Indian summer
Known as the "Dean of American Letters," author and editor William Dean Howells produced many novels and plays over the course of his august career. In the novel The Story of a Play, he ingeniously combines both genres, penning a tale about a romance between a woman and a journalist who dreams of becoming a famous playwright.
91) Venetian life
This novel from popular nineteenth-century American author William Dean Howells features a visitor from a mysterious distant island known as Altruria. The contrast between the utopian island community and conditions in 1890s America provides remarkable insight into the social and cultural issues facing the country then—and now. A must-read for fans of utopian fantasy and science fiction.
93) Italian journeys
94) London films
In this short novel from the "Dean of American Letters," a young woman traveling with her aunt and uncle makes the acquaintance of an unusual gentleman from New England. Though at first she is puzzled and perhaps even repelled by his eccentric worldview and personality, she gradually begins to feel drawn toward him.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the trend of forming utopian communities became prevalent across the United States. Several of William Dean Howells' novels gently satirized this movement; in Through the Eye of the Needle, an unlikely pair of utopian community dwellers fall in love.