William Dean Howells, A Modern Instance

Michael Anesko (Penn State University)
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The publication of

A Modern Instance

in 1882 marked a turning point in the career of William Dean Howells (1837-1920), who abandoned the editorship of the

Atlantic Monthly

– the standard bearer among American literary periodicals – just as he was embarking on what was to be his most ambitious novel to date. From his early years on the Ohio frontier, Howells had dreamed of securing the esteem of the pillars of New England literary culture; and against many odds he largely had won it by the 1870s, when he was brought forward to edit the

Atlantic

.

A Modern Instance

chronicles the life of a far less reputable literary man – an ambitious journalist named Bartley Hubbard – who is neither afraid nor ashamed to play fast and loose with his sources and to exploit others’ vulnerabilities…

1185 words

Citation: Anesko, Michael. "A Modern Instance". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 February 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7045, accessed 19 March 2024.]

7045 A Modern Instance 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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