A Hazard of New Fortunes

In Short

This is a panoramic social novel set in late 1880s New York City. It follows the Marches, a respectable, middle-aged couple who relocate from Boston when the husband, Basil, takes a job editing a new magazine, Every Other Week. As the couple navigates the city's frantic pace, they become entangled with an eccentric group of artists, financiers, and laborers. The narrative is a masterwork of realism, long celebrated for its nuanced portrayal of the moral compromises required to survive in a rapidly modernizing urban landscape.

The Story

Basil March, a man of literary sensibility and modest means, decides to move his family from the settled comfort of Boston to New York City after accepting a position as an editor for a new venture, Every Other Week. The magazine is the brainchild of Fulkerson, a breezy, aggressive, and relentlessly optimistic promoter who balances his commercial instincts with a genuine, if shallow, desire to publish quality work.

As the Marches establish themselves in their new, unpredictable surroundings, the narrative orbit expands to include a wide array of characters. There is Mr. Beaton, a cynical, talented, and deeply conflicted artist who struggles with his own professional apathy and a complicated, unrequited attraction to a young illustrator named Alma Leighton. Alma, living with her widowed mother in a boarding house, is determined to forge an artistic career, despite the skepticism of her mentors and the precarious nature of her finances.

Hovering over this cultural experiment is the financier Dryfoos, a man of immense, newly acquired wealth from the natural gas fields. Dryfoos is the magazine’s primary backer, yet he represents a world entirely foreign to the refined, intellectual circle of his employees. His family struggles to fit into high society, and his daughter Christine finds her life complicated by an ill-fated infatuation with Beaton. Meanwhile, the noble, aging idealist Lindau—a veteran who lost a hand in the Civil War—becomes a source of friction, as his radical, socialist politics collide with Dryfoos’s conservative, money-driven worldview.

The story progresses through the small, daily frictions of urban living and the larger, looming specter of a city-wide transit strike. As the strike paralyzes the city and turns violent, the characters are forced to confront the harsh realities of class conflict that underlie the "every other week" routine of their business. Lindau, participating in the protest, is brutally beaten by police, a trauma that ripples through the magazine staff and exposes the deep, irreconcilable divisions in the society they inhabit.

In the end, the veneer of journalistic and artistic detachment is stripped away. The magazine succeeds in a commercial sense, but the characters are permanently altered. Beaton, unable to resolve his internal conflicts or find satisfaction in his work, departs for Europe. The Marches find their comfortable, observational perspective shattered by the violence they have witnessed. The book concludes not with a tidy resolution, but with the sobering recognition that they are all participants in a relentless, often godless, economic machine that demands everything and promises very little.

How It Unfolds

The transition begins Basil March leaves his stable life in Boston to accept an editorial position in New York, a city he views with a mixture of apprehension and intellectual curiosity. He and his wife struggle to find their footing in a landscape defined by chaotic, rapid, and often jarring urban development.

The magazine takes shape Fulkerson gathers his team, including the temperamental artist Beaton, to launch Every Other Week. The editorial staff attempts to navigate the balance between commercial survival and the "high" artistic standards they claim to value.

The social circle widens The narrative introduces the boarding-house struggles of Alma Leighton and the immense, uncomfortable wealth of the Dryfoos family. These threads intertwine as the professional lives of the magazine staff become increasingly dependent on the financial backing of the unsophisticated, volatile Dryfoos.

The strike arrives A violent transit strike erupts in the city, forcing the characters to abandon their detachment. The brutal encounter between the police and the aging idealist Lindau shatters the quiet, intellectual bubble of the editorial office.

The fallout settles The novel concludes as the characters assess the damage caused by the strike and their own personal failures. Beaton chooses exile, and the Marches are left to reconcile their former idealism with the harsh, modern realities of their city.

The People

Basil March is an observant, intellectually honest editor who wants to believe in the integrity of his work. His primary obstacle is his own self-enwrapped nature, which is slowly eroded by his exposure to the city’s profound social inequalities.

Fulkerson is the driving, energetic force behind the magazine. He is motivated by the desire to succeed in the marketplace and possesses an uncanny ability to charm others, yet he remains deeply out of touch with the human cost of his business.

Beaton is a gifted, narcissistic artist who hates the very commercialism he relies upon for his living. He is defined by his inability to commit to his work or his relationships, ending the story as a man who has broken his own spirit.

Alma Leighton is a young, ambitious artist who seeks independence in a city that undervalues her efforts. She is perhaps the most resilient character, navigating the romantic and professional pitfalls of her circle with a sharp, guarded intelligence.

Dryfoos is the personification of raw, industrial wealth. He is a man of limited culture who views the world in terms of ownership and power, providing the financial lifeblood for the magazine while remaining entirely alienated from its artistic aims.

In Its Own Voice

"You've kept your despair dusted off and ready for use at an instant's notice ever since we came, and what good has it done?"

The daughter of a widow critiques her mother's persistent, paralyzing gloom regarding their financial struggles.

"I don't believe in your enterprise; I don't respect it, and I won't have anything to do with it."

The artist Beaton bluntly rejects the magazine’s commercial philosophy during his initial interview with the promoter.

"Andt you must zee it all the dtime--zee it, hear it, smell it, dtaste it--or you forget it."

The aging idealist Lindau explains his decision to live among the poor in order to prevent himself from becoming a detached "aristocrat."

What It's Really About

The central argument concerns the impossibility of maintaining a neutral, aesthetic life in a society governed by the brutal logic of industrial capitalism. Howells interrogates the "lawless" nature of a city that prioritizes survival of the strongest over the well-being of the collective. The book asks if art can truly be independent when it relies on money derived from the exploitation of others. It forces the reader to confront the "dumb appeal" of the suffering masses, suggesting that individual selfishness is the inevitable byproduct of a system that lacks any "intelligent, comprehensive purpose." Ultimately, it is a study in the erosion of the middle-class conscience.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate the dense, character-driven realism of 19th-century literature will find this book remarkably resonant. It offers a vivid, sensory immersion into a New York that feels simultaneously archaic and eerily familiar. The prose is precise and warm, though modern readers may find the occasional use of period dialect—particularly in the depiction of Lindau or the Southern characters—a challenging hurdle.

The story is long and deliberately paced, favoring psychological depth over rapid plot developments. However, those who persevere will be rewarded with a profound, unvarnished look at the social tensions that define modern urban life. You will stay with the memory of the transit strike—a sequence that captures the exact moment the "frantic panorama" of the city turns from amusing to terrifying. If you value books that refuse to provide easy comfort and instead demand that you look closely at the messy, unequal world around you, this work will leave a lasting impression. It is not a book for those seeking an escape; it is a book for those seeking to understand the often-cruel machinery of the society they still inhabit.