Fennel and Rue

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

3.0

Word count: 195K words
Chapters: 20

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.Fennel and Rue 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

Fennel and Rue is a late work by William Dean Howells, a leading figure of American realism. It is short and continues his fine-grained observation of everyday ethics and character psychology. The story turns on misunderstanding between people and the tension between respectability and genuine feeling; the tone is restrained, and plot is advanced through details of daily life, so it reads quietly yet lingers. Howells held that literature should faithfully depict American life, and this work embodies that aim: rather than dramatic conflict, it presents characters' hesitations and choices through dialogue and scene. For readers seeking to understand the transition of the late-nineteenth-century American novel from romanticism to realism, it is a fitting sample; for writers, it also shows how to handle emotional material with restraint. As a public-domain ebook, it suits quiet, attentive reading rather than a search for plot excitement.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in American realism and Howells's work
Readers who enjoy finely drawn psychology and a leisurely pace
Students studying late-nineteenth-century American social ethics and daily life
English learners who want to practice close reading with a public-domain English novel

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strong plots, suspense, or fast-paced narrative
Readers who need extensive background on historical events and social movements
Beginners with weak English reading skills who find old-fashioned long sentences difficult

Reading tips

Learn about Howells's realist credo first, then read the text; it is easier to grasp his restrained narrative intent
Watch for subtext and polite formulas in dialogue; this is key to understanding the conflict
The book is short: read it through once, then revisit key scenes to appreciate foreshadowing and psychological turns
After reading, write a short analysis of character motivation to test whether you have grasped the subtle ethical judgments

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

What themes does the novel mainly explore?

It focuses on misunderstanding in everyday relationships and the tension between respectability and genuine feeling, presenting ethical dilemmas through characters' hesitations and choices. It does not rely on strong dramatic conflict but advances through dialogue and detail, reflecting Howells's realist aim of faithfully depicting American life.

Can I read this directly without having read other works by Howells?

Yes. It is a standalone novel and does not depend on earlier works. Still, knowing the author's realist credo and style in advance helps readers adapt to its leisurely pace and indirect expression, making for a smoother reading.

Is this book suitable as material for intensive English reading?

Yes. The text is moderate in length, its sentences and diction carry late-nineteenth-century features, and it is rich in dialogue, making it convenient for analyzing tone and subtext. It is advisable to read key passages closely with an annotated edition or dictionary and to take notes on character motivation.

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.