High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A Hazard of New Fortunes is a novel by William Dean Howells. First published in 1890, the book was well-received for its awareness of social injustice—indeed, the book, considered by many to be his best work, was one of three Howells had written with Socialist and Utopian ideals in mind; The Quality of Mercy in 1892, and An Imperative Duty in 1893. The book is one of Howells` attempts to introduce the American Civil War into novels, rather than reconstruction novels, which were prominent in post-war America, while staying within the Realism style.