The Landlord at Lion's Head — Volume 1

"The Landlord at Lion's Head — Volume 1" by William Dean Howells is a novel written in the late 19th century. The story unfolds around the character Jeff Durgin, a young rustic from New England, as he interacts with the summer visitors to his family's farm and ponders the modernizing world around him, enriched by the backdrop of Lion's Head Mountain and the complexities of life. The opening of the novel serves as a bibliographical introduction by the author, discussing his inspiration drawn from a summer spent at Lake Champlain and the characters' development. It highlights the Durgin family, particularly Jeff and his mother, as they manage their farm against the challenges of rural life. The narrative establishes Jeff as a central figure, whose interactions with tourists, such as the painter Jere Westover, as well as the dynamics with his family, paint a rich picture of early American life in a rural community. The prose combines humor, observation, and social commentary, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of the characters' lives and their relationships as the story progresses. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

William Dean Howells was an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of The Atlantic Monthly, as well as for the novels The Rise of Silas Lapham and A Traveler from Altruria, and the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day," which was adapted into a 1996 film of the same name.