The Dwelling-Place of Light

There was an element of selfishness in Hannah’s mania for keeping busy, for doing all their housework and cooking herself. She could not bear to have her daughters interfere; perhaps she did not want to give herself time to think.-from The Dwelling-Place of LightAt the turn of the 20th century, Winston Churchill was the most popular novelist in the United States, the J.K Rowling of his day-his second novel, Richard Carvel, sold a phenomenal two million copies, and his extraordinary fame forced the British Winston Churchill-the future prime minister whom we associate with the name today-to use his middle name to avoid confusion with his American counterpart.From his early historical romances, Churchill moved on to political and social fiction. The Dwelling-Place of Light, published in 1917, centers on labor unrest in a Massachusetts mill town. Strikingly realistic, the novel does not shy from harsh depictions of the poor working conditions in the mill, nor of the violent tenor of the workers’ anger. And Churchill’s shrewd eye observes domestic matters as well, with his astute dramatizations of romance and married life.American novelist WINSTON CHURCHILL (1871-1947) was born in St. Louis, educated at Annapolis, and served in the U.S. Navy. His works include Richard Carvel (1899), The Crisis (1901), and The Inside of the Cup (1913). His later fiction reflected his interest in social issues, and he was active in New Hampshire state politics, serving as a legislator and running an unsuccessful campaign for governor.