A Hazard of New Fortunes (Summarized Edition)
Enriched edition. Gilded Age New York's class conflicts and capitalism's costs in a realist portrait of ordinary urban livesBy William Dean Howells
Length4h 26m
About this audiobook
A Hazard of New Fortunes follows Basil and Isabel March to New York, where Fulkerson hires Basil to edit the new magazine Every Other Week. Across offices, parlors, and streetcar lines, Howells composes a panoramic social comedy edged with menace: the immigrant socialist Lindau debates the ex-Confederate Colonel Woodburn; the newly rich investor Dryfoos asserts the sovereignty of capital; and a strike erupts, ending in Conrad Dryfoos's death. In supple, gently ironic realism, the novel blends metropolitan observation and dialogue to anatomize Gilded Age capitalism, labor unrest, and the rise of a modern media culture. Howells, long styled the dean of American realism, drew on his editorial career—from The Atlantic Monthly to his New York work with Harper's—to render the magazine world from within. His outspoken response to the Haymarket affair sharpened his social conscience, and his late-1880s immersion in Manhattan supplied the novel's documentary textures. Returning to his recurring protagonist Basil March, he tests how markets shape art and citizenship. Readers interested in American realism, labor history, or media studies will find this novel exacting and humane: a bracing, timely inquiry into class, immigration, and the ethics of publishing.
Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable—distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Author Biography · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.
Audiobook details
GenreLiterary Classics, General Fiction
Length4 hrs 26 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJan 10, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5Author Biography
Show all chaptersShow less
6A HAZARD OF NEW FORTUNES - A New York Story (American Classics Series) (pt. 1)
7A HAZARD OF NEW FORTUNES - A New York Story (American Classics Series) (pt. 2)
8Analysis
9Reflection
A Pair of Patient Lovers (Unabridged)William Dean Howells8h 29m$1.99 · $0.00
A Chance Acquaintance (Unabridged)William Dean Howells6h 43m$1.99 · $0.00
A MODERN INSTANCE (American Classics Series)William Dean Howells16h 56m3.8 (1.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Leatherwood God (Historical Novel)William Dean Howells5h 53m3.6 (275)$1.99 · $0.00
An Open-Eyed Conspiracy (Unabridged)William Dean Howells4h 16m$1.99 · $0.00
A Traveler from Altruria & Through the Eye of the Needle (Dystopian Classics) (Annotated)William Dean Howells15h 27m$2 · $0.00
William Dean Howells: 27 Novels in One Volume (Illustrated) (Annotated)William Dean Howells248h 40m$2 · $0.00
William Dean Howells - Premium Collection: 27 Novels in One Volume (Illustrated) (Annotated)William Dean Howells249h 52m4.5 (12)$2 · $0.00
Christmas Every Day & Other Christmas Stories by William Dean Howells (Annotated)William Dean Howells3h 10m3.9 (424)$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of William Dean Howells (Annotated)William Dean Howells436h 7m$2 · $0.00
THE VENICE NOVELS: A Foregone Conclusion, Ragged Lady & The Lady of the Aroostook (Annotated)William Dean Howells26h 3m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Short Stories of William Dean Howells: 40+ Tales & Children's Stories (Illustrated) (Annotated)William Dean Howells42h 10m$2 · $0.00
Christmas Every Day and Other Stories (Illustrated) (Annotated)William Dean Howells2h 52m3.4 (43)$2 · $0.00
THE MARCH FAMILY TRILOGY: Their Wedding Journey, A Hazard of New Fortunes & Their Silver Wedding Journey (Annotated)William Dean Howells43h 10m$2 · $0.00
Venetian LifeWilliam Dean Howells11h 12m3.9 (28)$2 · $0.00
The Landlord at Lion's Head — CompleteWilliam Dean Howells13h 47m3.7 (100)$2 · $0.00
Evening DressWilliam Dean Howells2h 1m$2 · $0.00
Familiar Spanish TravelsWilliam Dean Howells7h 19m3.8 (53)$2 · $0.00
Fennel and RueWilliam Dean Howells3h 56m3.8 (12)$2 · $0.00
Roman Holidays, and OthersWilliam Dean Howells8h 46m$2 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
Pride & Prejudice (Annotated)Jane Austen15h 10m4.7 (13.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m4.7 (2.8K)$15 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 40m4.6 (1.3K)$1 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 54m4.5 (10.6K)$2 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
The North American IndianEdward S. Curtis, Frederick Webb Hodge6h4.5 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Uncensored 13 Chapter Version + The Revised 20 Chapter Version (Annotated)Oscar Wilde16h 12m4.5 (2.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
Desperate MeasuresBrenda Jackson8h 59m4.7 (670)$28 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
War LordBernard Cornwell13h 21m4.6 (33.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m4.6 (2.7K)$29 · $0.00
Black History CollectionFrederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois27h 9m4.6 (2.6K)$18 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
White HotIlona Andrews13h 18m4.5 (136.9K)$5 · $0.00
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)Jackie French14h 58m4.6 (773)$33 · $0.00
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
You may also like
MARY BARTON (Annotated)Elizabeth Gaskell21h 26m3.8 (22K)$2 · $0.00
Look Away!William C. Davis23h 39m4.0 (662)$30
The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to America (1638–1870)W.E.B. Du Bois15h 31m4.2 (1.5K)$2 · $0.00
Old Mortality (Unabridged)Walter Scott20h 48m4.0 (1.5K)$2 · $0.00
SledgehammerDavid Friedman8h 21m4.7 (589)$26 · $0.00
Rebel in the RanksBrad S. Gregory9h 46m4.1 (502)$29 · $0.00
AbominationsLionel Shriver11h 36m4.0 (737)$29 · $0.00
The History of Rome: From the Abolition of the Monarchy in Rome to the Union of ItalyTheodor Mommsen5h 33m4.4 (775)$2 · $0.00
Rock Me on the WaterRonald Brownstein16h 15m4.0 (2.4K)$33 · $0.00
Democracy in America (Annotated)Alexis de Toqueville36h 35m4.3 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
American ValuesRobert F. Kennedy15h 43m4.4 (802)$33 · $0.00
Old Mortality (Annotated)Walter Scott20h 59m3.9 (5.7K)$2 · $0.00
HISTORY OF WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE Trilogy – Part 2 (Annotated)Susan B. Anthony, Ida H. Harper129h 53m$1.99 · $0.00
A Poor Wise Man (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart15h 2m3.6 (498)$1.99 · $0.00
House Divided (Annotated)Ben Ames Williams64h 28m$2 · $0.00
Pictures of German Life in the 18th and 19th Centuries (Vol. 1&2) (Annotated)Gustav Freytag21h 58m$1.99 · $0.00
A Sense of BalanceJohn Howard8h 50m4.2 (193)$29 · $0.00
Tehran's DaughtersMay McGoldrick, Nikoo Kafi, Jan Coffey9h 24m4.4 (30)$10 · $0.00
The Rise of the Dutch Kingdom, 1795-1813Hendrik Willem Van Loon6h 29m$2 · $0.00
Never Forgotten, Never Could beThomas Clarkson, Daniel Drayton, Louis Hughes, Lydia Maria Child, Austin Steward, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Moses Grandy, William Wells Brown, William Still, Nat Turner, Henry Bibb, Olaudah Equiano, Sojourner Truth, Mary Prince, Kate Drumgoold, Frederick Douglass, Brantz Mayer, Theodore Canot, Booker T. Washington, Elizabeth Keckley, Charles Ball, Solomon Northup, Josiah Henson, Stephen Smith, Ellen Craft, William Craft, John Gabriel Stedman, Sarah H. Bradford, Lucy A. Delaney, L. S. Thompson, F. G. De Fontaine, Henry Box Brown, John Dixon Long, Harriet Jacobs, Jacob D. Green, Thomas S. Gaines, Willie Lynch, Margaretta Matilda Odell, Joseph Mountain222h 38m4.6 (12)$1.99 · $0.00