William Howells was an American realist author and literary critic. In 1904 he was one of the first seven members chosen for the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Howells wrote plays, criticism, and essays about contemporary literary figures such as Ibsen, Zola, Verga, and, Tolstoy. These writings helped to establish their reputations in the United States. Perhaps his greatest influence came from his writing critically in support of many American writers. A Chance Aquaintance was published in 1873. It tells the story of Kitty Ellison beginning on the Saguenay boat about to depart Quebec. Her was leaving Quebec full of joyous expectations