Synopses & Reviews
1923. American novelist. In her later years, Cather's fascination with the American Southwest, early Canada and Catholicism reflects her search for alternatives to the greedy civilization she felt was replacing the spirit of the early pioneers. As with many of Cather's works, A Lost Lady is told by a male narrator, Neil Herbert. From early adolescence he is an admirer of Marian Forrester, the heroine, who is the wife of a former railroad magnate now settled on a large farm in South Dakota. Neil leaves to go to school in the East and as he matures his idolization of Ms. Forrester begins to lessen as he learns that there is both more and less to her than the glittering self-assured woman that meets his young eyes. After her husband, the Captain, dies, she falls on bad times, hurt rather than aided by advice from her lawyer. Her fall however is as much moral as it is financial, or at least it is in Neil's eyes. He notes that she has begun to use cosmetics and sherry. He finds her voice too loud, her laughter too forced. Neil loses his lady, or perhaps it is his illusion of her that is lost. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.
Review
"This classic has the striking economy of Hemingway, and is as poignant an elegy for the pioneer West as I have read." —The Times
Review
"A poised and perfectly shaped novel." —Daily Mail
Review
"Her finest novel...Unforgettable...This wonderful performance displays Cather's narrative technique at its sharpest, as well as her understanding of the eloquence of the slightest gesture, the simplest statement...A masterpiece." —Irish Times
Review
"She is undoubtedly one of the greatest American writers." —The Observer
Synopsis
Marian Forrester is the symbolic flower of the Old American West. She draws her strength from that solid foundation, bringing delight and beauty to her elderly husband, to the small town of Sweet Water where they live, to the prairie land itself, and to the young narrator of her story, Neil Herbert. All are bewitched by her brilliance and grace, and all are ultimately betrayed. For Marian longs for "life on any terms," and in fulfilling herself, she loses all she loved and all who loved her. This, Willa Cather's most perfect novel, is not only a portrait of a troubling beauty, but also a haunting evocation of a noble age slipping irrevocably into the past.
About the Author
Willa Cather (1873-1947) was born in Virginia where for generations her ancestors farmed land. She became a teacher and journalist and is one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century.