1892. Howells was an American realist author. He wrote for various magazines including Atlantic Monthly and Harper's Magazine. His career blossomed after the publication of his first realist novel, A Modern Instance. The Albany Depot begins: Mrs. Roberts, with many proofs of an afternoon's shopping in her hands and arms, appears at the door of the ladies' room, opening from the public hall, and studies the interior with a searching gaze, which develops a few suburban shoppers scattered over the settees, with their bags and packages, and two or three old ladies in the rocking-chairs.