The Rise of Silas Lapham

William Dean Howells (1837 - 1920)

The Rise of Silas Lapham is the most widely read of W.D. Howells’ novels. An example of literary realism, the story is about a farmer (Silas Lapham) who launches a very successful paint business, and moves his family up the social ladder of Boston. Lapham, however, is not one of the new types of American businessman, the ruthless plutocrat, rather he is the old-fashioned trustworthy Yankee trader, and the story deals with how he fares in the industrial capitalist environment. It is also a novel of manners, telling the story of the courtship of a daughter, and the difficulties the family deals with in attempting to move from one social class to another. (Summary by Margaret Espaillat)

Genre(s): General Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Chapter 1 BumbleVee
00:42:52
Play 02 Chapter 2 BumbleVee
00:30:32
Play 03 Chapter 3 BumbleVee
00:19:32
Play 04 Chapter 4 BumbleVee
00:27:19
Play 05 Chapter 5 BumbleVee
00:21:17
Play 06 Chapter 6 BumbleVee
00:24:18
Play 07 Chapter 7 BumbleVee
00:18:04
Play 08 Chapter 8 BumbleVee
00:30:22
Play 09 Chapter 9 BumbleVee
00:36:56
Play 10 Chapter 10 BumbleVee
00:23:08
Play 11 Chapter 11 BumbleVee
00:36:49
Play 12 Chapter 12 BumbleVee
00:34:08
Play 13 Chapter 13 BumbleVee
00:31:17
Play 14 Chapter 14 BumbleVee
00:43:59
Play 15 Chapter 15 BumbleVee
00:09:28
Play 16 Chapter 16 BumbleVee
00:18:27
Play 17 Chapter 17 BumbleVee
00:19:35
Play 18 Chapter 18 BumbleVee
00:19:05
Play 19 Chapter 19 BumbleVee
00:29:59
Play 20 Chapter 20 BumbleVee
00:25:40
Play 21 Chapter 21 BumbleVee
00:17:52
Play 22 Chapter 22 BumbleVee
00:10:17
Play 23 Chapter 23 Margaret Espaillat
00:31:12
Play 24 Chapter 24 Margaret Espaillat
00:34:50
Play 25 Chapter 25 Margaret Espaillat
00:41:19
Play 26 Chapter 26 Margaret Espaillat
00:32:43
Play 27 Chapter 27 Margaret Espaillat
00:44:38