Christmas every day william dean howells summary

American author, critic, and playwright (–)

For other people with the same name, see William Howells (disambiguation).

William Dean Howells (HOW-əlz; March 1, – May 11, ) was an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters".

He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of The Atlantic Monthly, as well as for the novels The Rise of Silas Lapham and A Traveler from Altruria, and the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day," which was adapted into a film of the same name.

Biography

Early life and family

William Dean Howells was born on March 1, , in Martinsville, Ohio (now known as Martins Ferry, Ohio), to William Cooper Howells and Mary Dean Howells,^[1] the second of eight children.

He had Welsh, German, Irish, and English ancestry.^[2] His father was a newspaper editor and printer who moved frequently around Ohio.^[3] In , the family settled in Hamilton, O