A Traveller from Altruria

William Dean Howells (1837 - 1920)

Set in the early 1890s, at a fashionable summer resort somewhere on the East Coast of the United States, this book tells the story of Mr. Twelvemough, an author who has been selected to function as host to a visitor from the faraway island of Altruria. The visitor, Mr. Homos, has come all the way to the United States, a country which prides itself on democracy and equality, to experience everyday life in America firsthand, and to see for himself how the principle that "All men are created equal" is being put into practice. Due to Altruria's secluded existence, very little is known about the island, so Twelvemough and his circle of acquaintances, all of whom are staying at the same resort hotel, seem more eager to learn about Altruria than to explain American life and institutions. To their dismay, it becomes gradually clear that the United States is greatly lagging behind Altruria in practically every aspect of life, be it political, economic, cultural or moral. Summary from Wikipedia

Genre(s): Satire, Published 1800 -1900

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Chapter 1 Foon
00:31:20
Play 02 Chapter 2 realisticspeakers
00:22:44
Play 03 Chapter 3 Foon
00:35:49
Play 04 Chapter 4 realisticspeakers
00:26:57
Play 05 Chapter 5
Mark Nelson
00:35:45
Play 06 Chapter 6 Matthew D. Robinson
00:46:43
Play 07 Chapter 7 Matthew D. Robinson
00:46:02
Play 08 Chapter 8 Foon
00:41:11
Play 09 Chapter 9 taniles1364
00:32:11
Play 10 Chapter 10 Mark Nelson
00:31:16
Play 11 Chapter 11 taniles1364
00:36:33
Play 12 Chapter 12- Part 1 taniles1364
00:35:00
Play 13 Chapter 12- Part 2 taniles1364
00:35:17