A Hazard of New Fortunes — Complete

by William Dean Howells

"A Hazard of New Fortunes" by William Dean Howells is a novel published in 1889. Basil March moves from Boston to New York City to manage a new literary magazine, bringing him into contact with characters from across American society—capitalists, socialists, former Civil War soldiers, and artists. When political tensions between the magazine's wealthy owner and March's impoverished mentor escalate, the conflict mirrors the larger divisions tearing through Gilded Age America, culminating in a violent streetcar strike that forces everyone to confront the consequences of their beliefs.