<p>In 'Annie Kilburn', a novel by William Dean Howells, readers are presented with a penetrating examination of social mores and personal morality. Set against the backdrop of a small New England town, the eponymous protagonist confronts the complexities of returning to her roots after a prolonged absence abroad. Howells' realist style adeptly captures the dialects and minutiae of late 19th-century American life, while the narrative explores them...