The Rise of Silas LaphamPenguin, 28 apr 1983 - 400 pagine William Dean Howells' richly humorous characterization of a self-made millionaire in Boston society provides a paradigm of American culture in the Gilded Age. After establishing a fortune in the paint business, Silas Lapham moves his family from their Vermont farm to the city of Boston, where they awkwardly attempt to break into Brahmin society. Silas, greedy for wealth as well as prestige, brings his company to the brink of bankruptcy, and the family is forced to return to Vermont, financially ruined but morally renewed. As Kermit Vanderbilt points out in his introduction, the novel focuses on important themes in the American literary tradition: the efficacy of self-help and determination, the ambiguous benefits of social and economic progress, and the continual contradiction between urban and pastoral values. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. |
Sommario
Introduction | vii |
Suggestions for Further Reading | xxix |
A Note on the Text | xxxi |
THE RISE OF SILAS LAPHAM | 1 |
Silas Lapham and AntiSemitism | 366 |
Altre edizioni - Visualizza tutto
Parole e frasi comuni
afraid ain't aint answered architect asked Back Bay Bartley Beacon street began believe better Boston Bromfield Corey chance Colonel Lapham coming Corey's course cried daughter dinner door eyes face father feel fellow felt girl give glad guess hand heard hope Howells Howells's husband Irene Irene's James Bellingham Kanawha Falls keep knew ladies laughed looked Lumberville married Middlemarch Milldam Milton K mind mineral paint morning mother Nanny never night novel once Penelope perhaps Persis pretty replied Rogers round seemed Sewell sha'n't sighed Silas Lapham sister smile sort speak stood stopped suppose talk tell there's thing thought told took trouble turned W. D. Howells waited West Virginia what's wife William Dean Howells wish woman wrong young Corey Zerrilla وو