Venetian Life (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Howells was appointed United States consul in Venice, Italy. In Venetian Life, an utterly engaging travelogue, Howells revises a series of travel letters he had written about his experiences in Venice for the Boston Advertiser. Honest in its love for (yet discomfort in) Venice, it would be followed by Italian Journeys.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Howells was appointed United States consul in Venice, Italy. In Venetian Life, an utterly engaging travelogue, Howells revises a series of travel letters he had written about his experiences in Venice for the Boston Advertiser. Honest in its love for (yet discomfort in) Venice, it would be followed by Italian Journeys.

William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was an American novelist and critic.  He edited the Atlantic Monthly from 1871-1881, where he championed literary realism and advanced the careers of such important American writers as Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, and Henry James.  His best known novel is The Rise of Silas Lapham (1885).