Buying a Horse

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About this book

A move from Charlesbridge into the country gives one cautious buyer a reason to acquire a family horse, and a stream of advisers soon makes the purchase complicated. In William Dean Howells's short story, a professor explains what to look for, while dealers arrive with animals whose advertised virtues dissolve during trial drives. The buyer gradually learns their vocabulary, questions their claims and wonders how to balance a modest budget with his family's needs.

The narrator's amused account turns bargaining, expert advice and wounded confidence into the substance of the comedy. Billy, a horse welcomed by the children, brings a period of reassurance, but his behavior also tests the household's trust. Readers interested in everyday social comedy will find close attention to salesmanship and the ease with which hope can pass for judgment. The horse trade supplies both the setting and a practical lesson in human persuasion.

About the author

William Dean Howells

William Dean Howells (1837 to 1920) was one of the most influential American men of letters of his era, an editor, critic, and prolific novelist. He championed literary realism, supported writers like Mark Twain, and used his own fiction to examine money, class, and conscience in American society.