The Rise of Silas Lapham

The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells is a realistic novel about ambition, social class, wealth, and moral values in nineteenth-century America. Silas Lapham, a self-made businessman who rises from modest beginnings to great wealth, attempts to enter Boston’s upper-class society while struggling with questions of integrity and social acceptance. Through his family and business relationships, Howells examines the tensions between material success and personal character.