Student Companion to Willa Cather (Student Companions to Classic Writers)

Willa Cather's elegiac tales of the pioneer experience on the American frontier continue to captivate new generations of readers. Written especially for students, this critical introduction offers insightful yet accessible criticism of Cather's most widely read novels. A full chapter examines each work, with full discussions of character development, thematic concerns, plot, critical reception, and historical contexts. Students will find this book a valuable guide to this great American author. The volume covers such enduring works as Alexander's Bridge, O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, My D'Antonia, The Professor's House, Death Comes for the Archbishop, and Shadows on the Rock. Each chapter is devoted to an individual novel and provides a full discussion of character development, thematic concerns, and plot structure. The introduction to each novel traces its genesis and its critical reception at the time of publication. The historical context sections place Cather's vision of the pioneer spirit and achievement within the context of a rapidly changing America that was in the process of abandoning its traditional values and thus risking its source of greatness. Students will find this book a valuable guide to Cather's works. Contents......Page 8 Series Foreword......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 1 A Writer’s Life......Page 14 2 Within and against Tradition: Willa Cather’s Literary Career......Page 34 3 A Writer’s Beginnings: The Troll Garden (1905) and Alexander’s Bridge (1912)......Page 60 4 “The Land beneath Your Feet”: O Pioneers! (1913)......Page 80 5 The Song of the Lark (1915)......Page 102 6 My Ántonia (1918)......Page 122 7 After “the World Broke in Two”: The Professor’s House (1925)......Page 148 8 Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927)......Page 168 9 Shadows on the Rock (1931)......Page 190 10 Coda......Page 212 Selected Bibliography......Page 214 Index......Page 226 A writer's life Within and against tradition : Willa Cather's literary career A writer's beginnings : The troll garden (1905) and Alexander's bridge (1912) "The land beneath your feet" : O pioneers! (1913) The song of the lark (1915) My A ntonia (1918) After "the world broke in two" : The professor's house (1925) Death comes for the archbishop (1927) Shadows on the rock (1931) Coda. "Written especially for students, this critical introduction offers insightful yet accessible criticism of Cather's most widely read novels."--Jacket.