Dr. Breen's Practice

Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 314K words
Chapters: 32

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Dr. Breen's Practice by William Dean HowellsAuthor: Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 24, 2004

Editor's review

Dr. Breen's Practice is a social novel by Howells that uses a woman entering medical practice as its entry point, centering on a young female doctor's experience of opening a practice in a conservative community and touching on such themes as professional ideals versus real-world pressures, gender prejudice, and self-vindication. Howells writes everyday scenes in a gentle, plain style, with natural dialogue and social mores revealed in the details; the reading is driven not by strong conflict but by the accumulation of circumstances and choices. Its value lies in presenting the complex attitudes of nineteenth-century American society toward women in the professions and in offering today's readers a mirror for observing professional identity and public judgment. While reading, pay attention to how the heroine builds professional credibility amid doubt and to the social logic behind changes in the attitudes of those around her. Suitable for readers interested in the history of women's professions and American realist literature, to be read slowly and savored.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in American realist literature and nineteenth-century social novels
Readers concerned with the history of women's professions and gender issues
Readers who enjoy plain narrative and reading social mores through everyday details
Students studying Howells's works or taking courses in American literature

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plot, fast pace, and dramatic conflict
Readers expecting medical professional detail or medical suspense
Readers who prefer a romantic love主线 and have little interest in social issues

Reading tips

First learn a little about the historical background of nineteenth-century American women in medicine; this makes the circumstances easier to understand when entering the text.
While reading, pay attention to passages showing changes in the attitudes of those around the heroine; they explain the social logic better than the plot does.
After finishing, compare it with contemporary women's professional circumstances and write down your own observations and questions.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is the novel's plot pace very slow?

It is indeed rather slow. Howells does not drive the story with strong conflict but unfolds it gradually through everyday scenes, dialogue, and the characters' circumstances. Readers used to fast-paced reading may find the first few chapters plain, but if they persist they will find the social observations in the details quite substantial. Reading section by section is recommended; there is no need to rush.

Does the book contain a lot of medical content?

Medicine is not the focus of this book. The heroine's identity as a doctor is more a perspective from which to enter social issues; the work focuses on professional ideals, gender prejudice, and community judgment, not on diagnosis and treatment or medical knowledge. Readers expecting medical detail may be disappointed, while readers concerned with social and gender issues are better suited to it.

Can I read this book without knowing Howells?

Yes. The book's narrative is plain and does not depend on familiarity with the author's other works. To read more deeply, you may first learn briefly about the basic tendencies of nineteenth-century American realist literature and the social background of women entering the professions at that time; this will help readers enter the characters' circumstances more quickly.

Comments

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About the author

Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920 Author

William Dean Howells (1837–1920) was an American author and literary editor, with 107 works held in the collection. His writing spans novels, travel books, memoirs, and literary essays, and his representative works include My Mark Twain, Indian Summer, A Boy's Town, A Modern Instance, and A Hazard of New Fortunes. Howells drew on close observation of everyday life, writing in a plain style with gentle irony and attending to moral questions and human situations amid social change; his travel book Venetian Life and his memoir Literary Friends and Acquaintance record his journeys and personal recollections of American literary figures. Public information is limited, so biographical details are not elaborated here; readers may turn to the works above to learn about his subjects and style.