William Dean Howells, Indian Summer

Max Lester Loges (Lamar University)
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Much of what happens in

Indian Summer

is reflected in the actual life of its author, William Dean Howells. Like the main character, Theodore Colville, Howells had spent several years in Italy as a young man. Again like Colville, he returned there after an absence of seventeen years. Howells’ visit was prompted from his strenuous efforts in writing

A Modern Instance

. Many of Howells’ literary friends also noticed that several of his personality traits were incorporated into Colville’s character. Howells’ notebook reveals that a number of his experiences in Florence were incorporated into his novel. For instance, several of Colville’s conversations with Reverend Waters were based on Howells’ own talks with Karl Hillenbrand, one of the leaders of the German colony in Florence.

The

2218 words

Citation: Loges, Max Lester. "Indian Summer". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 April 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4447, accessed 19 March 2024.]

4447 Indian Summer 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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