Quotes by William Dean Howells

About William Dean Howells:

William Dean Howells was an American realist author, 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 his own prolific writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day", and the novels The Rise of Silas Lapham and A Traveler from Altruria.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

The book which you read from a sense of duty, or because for any reason you must, does not commonly make friends with you.

William Dean Howells

The mortality of all inanimate things is terrible to me, but that of books most of all.

William Dean Howells

Is it worth while to observe that there are no Venetian blinds in Venice?

William Dean Howells

Tomorrow I shall be sixty-nine, but I do not seem to care. I did not start the affair, and I have not been consulted about it at any step.

William Dean Howells

Some people can stay longer in an hour than others can in a week.

William Dean Howells

She had conquered, but she had also necessarily lost much. Perhaps what she had lost was not worth keeping; but at any rate she had lost it.

William Dean Howells

Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart must hold both sisters, never seen apart.

William Dean Howells

Author Bio

  • NameWilliam Dean Howells
  • Descriptionauthor, critic and playwright from the United States
  • BornMarch 1, 1837
  • DiedMay 11, 1920
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionJournalist; Author; Novelist; Essayist; Playwright