Annie Kilburn: A Novel

A significant figure in American literature, William Dean Howells was a proponent of social realism, and he grapples with issues of class and cultural clashes in the novel Annie Kilburn. After many years abroad, a family tragedy brings Annie back to her small hometown in New England. She finds that her experiences in Europe have opened her eyes to the harsh truth about poverty in the United States, and she resolves to do something about it.