The Rise of Silas Lapham Author:William Dean Howells From the 1870s to his death in 1920 William Dean Howells was one of the most prolific and popular American writers. In his many novels Howells accurately portrayed the America of his time--the rise of Industrialism, the problems of labor, the social patterns, the moral issues. In The Rise of Silas Lapham, published in 1885, he drew and acute a... more »nd penetrating picture of the self-made American businessman of the late nineteenth century and his desperate efforts to move himself and his family into a higher social order. This book is old, but in fantastic shape for a paperback. Appears to have never been read.« less