A father uses his daughter to try to prove his belief in spiritualism. When his efforts fail, they retreat to a Shaker community to recover from the debacle.......... 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...