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The Whole Family: a Novel
William Dean Howells and others
Book Overview:
Told in twelve chapters, each with a different author. The basic plot was to show how an engagement or marriage would affect and be affected by an entire family. The project became somewhat curious for the way the authors' contentious interrelationships mirrored the sometimes dysfunctional family they described in their chapters. The collaboration may have been an uncomfortable one, but a final product did emerge with some clever and entertaining contributions from its often squabbling authors.
Authors include William Dean Howells, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Mary Heaton Vorse, Mary Stewert Cutting, Elizabeth Jordan, John Kendrick Bangs, Henry James, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Edith Wyatt, Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, Alice Brown and Henry van Dyke
Told in twelve chapters, each with a different author. The basic plot was to show how an engagement or marriage would affect and be affected by an entire family. The project became somewhat curious for the way the authors' contentious interrelationships mirrored the sometimes dysfunctional family they described in their chapters. The collaboration may have been an uncomfortable one, but a final product did emerge with some clever and entertaining contributions from its often squabbling authors.
Authors include William Dean Howells, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Mary Heaton Vorse, Mary Stewert Cutting, Elizabeth Jordan, John Kendrick Bangs, Henry James, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Edith Wyatt, Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, Alice Brown and Henry van Dyke
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It is hard, I say, to see the causes for unhappiness set in action and yet do nothing, or, if one speaks, to speak to deaf ears. Oh, it is very hard to do this, and this has been the portion of older women always. Our children sometimes won't even let us dry their tears for them, but cry by themselves, as I know Ada has been doing lately—though in the end she came to me, or rather I went to her, for, after all, I am living in the same world with the rest of them. I have not passed over to the other side yet, and while I stay I am not going to be treated as if I were a disembodied spirit. I have eyes of my own, and ears too, and I can see as well as the next man when things go wrong.
I have always known that no good would come of sending Peggy to a coeducational college. I urged Ada to set her foot down, fo. . . Read More
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Community Reviews
What a project! This was the big idea of (although he may have gotten this idea from Mark Twain) William Dean Howells. He pitched it to Harper's Bazar, who bit, and then it became the chore to find writers - and they had to be of a certain quality, and known for it to work - who would be willing. Ma
Odd little novel that I am really happy I put on my exam list. One of those books where it is unlikely you will ever meet someone who has also read it. Authored by 12 different writers in 1908, it offers a neat little snapshot of the early 20th century literary scene––good chapters by Howells, Henry
I picked this up in a national trust used book store, attracted by the name of Dean Howells and was pleasantly surprised that such a contrived idea worked so well. A lot of the authors were new to me but they all managed to convey a real sense of character in each of their chapters. The story flowed
After reading some very heavy nonfiction, I found this volume on the shelf of ebooks from my local library. Having read two of the authors before, I was attracted by the subject matter and the POV as represented by the twelve. Much to my surprise, the storyline moved along coherently and the stylist
I liked the setup of having twelve different authors, it was great to see their different writing styles. Also, apparently, how they each decided to take the story in a different direction as there were definitely things that didn’t follow. But it was a fun read!
Well, I have to say this is one of the most unique stories I've read. I loved the idea and I liked how you got to see the story unfold from the different perspectives of the family members. There was more language then I was comfortable with and the ending wasn't what I had hoped for.
What a joy, reading this!
I picked this book up in an old book store in New Orleans. I had never heard of it before and thought it sounded fascinating. It was originally published in book form in 1908, but it first ran as a series in Harper's Bazaar magazine. It is written by twelve authors who were all pretty well known in
This cleverly-constructed book is quite a bit of fun. It's exactly what the title states: a novel with twelve chapters each written by a different author—each told from the perspective of a different character in the story. The family of the title are the Talberts, leading citizens of a small New Yo