Hazard of New Fortunes
William Dean Howells
Howell’s novel is set in New York of the late nineteenth century, a city familiar to readers of Edith Wharton and Henry James. Basil March, a businessman from Boston of a literary bent, moves with his family to New York to edit a new journal founded by an acquaintance. Its financial support, however, comes from a Mr. Dryfoos, a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer suddenly become millionaire by the discovery of natural gas on his property, and now living in New York with his family in a style he hopes will befit his new wealth.Is it his new fortune that presents a hazard? Or is it the new wealth of New York City in the Gilded Age? Both March and his literary creator are increasingly aware of some of the social and economic contradictions that beset the city of the time (though some of Howell’s analysis sounds as if it well might fit New York today). Characters such as, among others, Dryfoos’s children, a German socialist immigrant who fought for the Union cause, an impoverished Southern colonel still persuaded that a reformed slavery might work, a young woman drawn from the upper reaches of Old New York society, help to enrich the story and its setting with their differing viewpoints. ( Nicholas Clifford)
Author - William Dean Howells.
Narrator - Nicholas Clifford.
Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Location:
United States
Description:
Howell’s novel is set in New York of the late nineteenth century, a city familiar to readers of Edith Wharton and Henry James. Basil March, a businessman from Boston of a literary bent, moves with his family to New York to edit a new journal founded by an acquaintance. Its financial support, however, comes from a Mr. Dryfoos, a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer suddenly become millionaire by the discovery of natural gas on his property, and now living in New York with his family in a style he hopes will befit his new wealth.Is it his new fortune that presents a hazard? Or is it the new wealth of New York City in the Gilded Age? Both March and his literary creator are increasingly aware of some of the social and economic contradictions that beset the city of the time (though some of Howell’s analysis sounds as if it well might fit New York today). Characters such as, among others, Dryfoos’s children, a German socialist immigrant who fought for the Union cause, an impoverished Southern colonel still persuaded that a reformed slavery might work, a young woman drawn from the upper reaches of Old New York society, help to enrich the story and its setting with their differing viewpoints. ( Nicholas Clifford) Author - William Dean Howells. Narrator - Nicholas Clifford. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Language:
English
Chapter 1
Duration:00:08:33
Chapter 2
Duration:00:18:33
Chapter 3
Duration:00:08:50
Chapter 4
Duration:00:06:49
Chapter 5
Duration:00:14:32
Chapter 6
Duration:00:10:16
Chapter 7
Duration:00:08:01
Chapter 8
Duration:00:23:52
Chapter 9
Duration:00:22:05
Chapter 10
Duration:00:09:08
Chapter 11
Duration:00:18:50
Chapter 12
Duration:00:28:50
Chapter 13
Duration:00:24:46
Chapter 14
Duration:00:18:38
Chapter 15
Duration:00:12:10
Chapter 16
Duration:00:15:44
Chapter 17
Duration:00:10:04
Chapter 18
Duration:00:07:41
Chapter 19
Duration:00:16:26
Chapter 20
Duration:00:10:41
Chapter 21
Duration:00:25:12
Chapter 22
Duration:00:10:42
Chapter 23
Duration:00:17:05
Chapter 24
Duration:00:25:21
Chapter 25
Duration:00:11:33
Chapter 26
Duration:00:11:41
Chapter 27
Duration:00:21:30
Chapter 28
Duration:00:14:58
Chapter 29
Duration:00:13:32
Chapter 30
Duration:00:15:44
Chapter 31
Duration:00:13:53
Chapter 32
Duration:00:20:18
Chapter 33
Duration:00:06:23
Chapter 34
Duration:00:08:57
Chapter 35
Duration:00:16:31
Chapter 36
Duration:00:27:23
Chapter 37
Duration:00:29:24
Chapter 38
Duration:00:21:14
Chapter 39
Duration:00:14:24
Chapter 40
Duration:00:20:31
Chapter 41
Duration:00:16:46
Chapter 42
Duration:00:33:42
Chapter 43
Duration:00:16:04
Chapter 44
Duration:00:20:24
Chapter 45
Duration:00:30:52
Chapter 46
Duration:00:26:13
Chapter 47
Duration:00:29:31
Chapter 48
Duration:00:13:29
Chapter 49
Duration:00:12:25
Chapter 50
Duration:00:08:21
Chapter 51
Duration:00:09:03
Chapter 52
Duration:00:11:22
Chapter 53
Duration:00:12:32
Chapter 54
Duration:00:07:38
Chapter 55
Duration:00:12:23
Chapter 56
Duration:00:07:08
Chapter 57
Duration:00:07:13
Chapter 58
Duration:00:16:00
Chapter 59
Duration:00:15:36
Chapter 60
Duration:00:10:28
Chapter 61
Duration:00:18:58
Chapter 62
Duration:00:08:56
Chapter 63
Duration:00:09:00