Books like A hazard of new fortunes by William Dean Howells
Basil March, a discontented Boston editor, embraces the opportunity to found a new magazine in 1890s New York, leaving behind his familiar job and home. He and his wife quickly confront the practical challenges of moving into a bustling city, searching for an affordable apartment while he struggles to attract contributors and readers.
The Marches become entangled in the diverse tapestry of New Yorkers: a German socialist crippled by war, a former colonel clinging to nostalgia for slavery, eccentric Bohemian artists, workers on strike, a slick publicist, a starchy society family, and a wealthy farmer‑turned‑speculator whose actions harm those he loves. The novel, written by William Dean Howells, draws on the author’s own experience of relocating from Boston to New York and was presented by Howells as his most vital work.
First publish date: 1707
Genre: Literary Fiction/Classic Literature
Authors: William Dean Howells
★
★
★
★
★
0.0 (0 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for A hazard of new fortunes by William Dean Howells are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to A hazard of new fortunes (17 similar books)
James Joyce’s Dubliners is a landmark collection of fifteen short stories set in late‑19th‑century Dublin, capturing ordinary lives and suppressed dreams while exploring themes of lost innocence, paralysis, and the moral fabric of Irish society.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
The God of Small Things chronicles the upended childhood of fraternal twins in India, exploring love, caste, and the impact of small moments on fate.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In post‑war New York, Newland Archer faces a dilemma when his fiancée’s cousin, the rebellious Ellen Olenska, challenges his elite society’s expectations and his own loyalty.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Two lifelong friends, Nel and Sula, navigate friendship, betrayal, and the changing landscapes of Medallion, Ohio, as they grow into very different women.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In wintry Starkfield, Massachusetts, disabled farmer Ethan Frome is trapped in a loveless marriage to Zeena while his unrequited love for Zeena’s cousin Mattie drives a desperate, tragic triangle that culminates in a failed attempt to escape together.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A young governess in a remote estate discovers that the souls of two children are threatened by the malevolent ghosts of a former governess and her lover.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Set in the 1830s Midlands, George Eliot’s Middlemarch intertwines village life, politics, and the struggles of its characters to explore social reform, gender roles, and community hypocrisy.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In 1983 London, twenty‑year‑old Nick Guest, a recent Oxford graduate, becomes entangled in the lavish, politically charged world of MP Gerald Feddens, his wife Rachel, and their family, discovering love, ambition, and the temptations of an era in sharp, humor‑laden prose.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In Edith Wharton’s classic, Lily Bart, a beautiful and intelligent young woman devoted to luxury, struggles to navigate New York’s strict social hierarchy and moral expectations, ultimately confronting the limits of her independence.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A sprawling examination of ambition, love, and crime in early 20th‑century New York, revealing how a young man's rise is tainted by social class, ambition, and tragedy.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Nick Itch and his new friends Bruno and Loretta help him uncover the mystery of a stolen bicycle and track down Arthur Bobowicz, the eccentric owner of a 266‑pound chicken named Henrietta, in the lively town of Hoboken, New Jersey.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In "Angle of Repose," Wallace Stegner follows wheelchair‑bound retired historian Lyman Ward as he researches his grandparents’ pioneering life on the American West, uncovering truths that reshape his own story.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Young Caroline Meeber's journey from girlhood to womanhood in 19th-century Chicago and New York, exploring themes of independence, relationships, and the struggles of rising above expectations in a harsh environment and the promise of the American Dream through the eyes of a runaway teenager, with a twist of psychological thriller elements.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Toni Morrison’s adult novel follows black fashion model Jadine Childs and fugitive lover, Son, as their love story weaves through the Caribbean, Manhattan and the deep South, confronting race, loyalty, ambition and crime.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Nick and Nora Charles navigate a New York murder mystery with wit and charm, turning a hard‑boiled investigation into a sophisticated comedy of manners.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In 1886‑Boston satire, a civil war veteran, his feminist cousin, and a newcomer collide over reformist ideals, revealing the era’s social tensions.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Three couples are thrown into turmoil as their beautiful neighbor announces she's pregnant.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!