Fennel and Rue

"Fennel and Rue" by William Dean Howells is a story set in the late 1800s, of an author named Philip Verrian who is trying to become a more popular and well-known author and his contact with an admirer of his that causes him both concern and to doubt himself. Verrian finally experiences success when a magazine publishes his stories in parts, but he receives a letter from a young girl who says she is sick and wants to know how his story ends, setting off his unease. Verrian then talks to his editor about even responding to the girl's request. The letters that he receives create tension, causing him to think about the relationship between the writer and reader along with his own worries about how good his writing is and who he is, all while his fame increases.