The Whole Family: a Novel by Twelve Authors

John Kendrick Bangs

1862–1922

Best remembered for witty, imaginative stories that helped shape what later came to be called Bangsian fantasy, this American humorist delighted readers with playful takes on the afterlife, politics, and everyday absurdity. He also had a lively career in magazine editing, bringing his sharp comic voice to both fiction and journalism.

Alice Brown

1857–1948

A leading voice of New England local-color fiction, this American author was known for stories and novels that captured village life, moral tension, and the inner lives of women with warmth and precision. She also wrote poetry and plays, building a long and varied literary career from the late 19th century into the 20th.

Mary Stewart Cutting

1851–1924

Known for witty, observant stories about marriage, family, and suburban life, this American writer brought humor and sharp social insight to popular magazines and books of the early 1900s. She was also active in the woman suffrage movement, giving her work an added sense of independence and modernity.

Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman

1852–1930

A sharp, observant voice of New England fiction, this American writer is remembered for stories that capture the quiet pressures, stubborn pride, and inner lives of small-town people. Her work helped define local-color writing while giving unusual depth to women’s everyday struggles.

William Dean Howells

1837–1920

A leading voice of American literary realism, this novelist and critic helped shape how late 19th-century fiction sounded and what it cared about. He is especially remembered for his work at The Atlantic Monthly and for novels like The Rise of Silas Lapham.

Henry James

1843–1916

A master of psychological fiction, this American-born writer turned the novel into a subtle art of observation, moral tension, and social nuance. His stories often explore the clash between innocence and experience, especially when Americans and Europeans meet.

Elizabeth Garver Jordan

1867–1947

A sharp-eyed reporter turned magazine editor, this early 20th-century writer brought newsroom energy and social conviction to both journalism and fiction. Her career ranged from covering headline trials to shaping major literary voices and supporting the suffrage movement.

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

1844–1911

A pioneering American novelist and reform-minded writer, she is best remembered for The Gates Ajar, a hugely popular Civil War-era novel that imagined heaven in deeply personal, comforting terms. Her work also pushed into social criticism, women’s lives, and spiritual questions that resonated with a wide nineteenth-century readership.

Henry Van Dyke

1852–1933

A warmly accessible writer of stories, poems, and essays, he moved easily between the pulpit, the classroom, and public service. Best known today for "The Story of the Other Wise Man" and the hymn "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee," he wrote with a clear moral spirit and a love of beauty and nature.

Mary Heaton Vorse

1874–1966

A fearless reporter and novelist, she wrote from the front lines of labor struggles and women’s activism, bringing working people’s lives into sharp focus. Her work blends eyewitness urgency with a strong sense of justice.

Known for sharp, humane stories and essays, this Chicago writer captured everyday life with wit and sympathy. She was also deeply involved in reform-minded circles, linking her literary work to the social world around Hull House.