William Dean Howells (March 1, 1837 - May 11, 1920) was an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed The Dean of American Letters . He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of The Atlantic Monthly, as well as for his own prolific writings, including the Christmas story Christmas Every Day and the novels The Rise of Silas Lapham and A Traveler from Altruria. In 1856, Howells was elected as a clerk in the State House of Representatives. In 1858, he began to work at the Ohio State Journal where he wrote poetry and short stories, and also translated pieces from French, Spanish, and German. He avidly studied German and other languages and was greatly interested in Heinrich Heine.