A Traveler from Altruria: Romance

by William Dean Howells

"A Traveler from Altruria: Romance" by William Dean Howells is a utopian novel published in 1894. When a mysterious visitor from the island nation of Altruria arrives at a fashionable American resort, he challenges everything the privileged guests believe about democracy and equality. Through his innocent questions and unsettling behavior—helping servants, performing manual labor—Mr. Homos gradually reveals that his homeland far surpasses America in justice and morality. This pointed critique exposes the greed and social divisions of Gilded Age capitalism.