Synopses & Reviews
Best known for the distinctive portraits of the people and land of the American West in her prairie novels, Willa Cather is one of the greatest American writers of this century. The fourteen short stories in this richly diverse collection, along with an exemplary introduction by author Cynthia Griffin Wolff, allow for a more complex view of Cather. As a writer she was intrigued by nature's ruthlessness and mankind's limitless potential for brutality and had a passion for the beauty of art. Ranging from the simplicity of Cather's first published story, "Peter" (1892), to the extraordinary eroticism of "Coming, Aphrodite!" (1920), this Twentieth-Century Classics collection is an engaging and triumphant testament to the genius of an American literary icon.
About the Author
Born in Virginia in 1873 and raised on a Nebraska ranch, Willa Cather is known for her beautifully evocative short stories and novels about the American West. Cather became the managing editor for
McClure’s Magazine in 1906 and lived for forty years in New York City with her companion Edith Lewis. In 1922 Cather won the Pulitzer Prize for
One of Ours, the story of a Western boy in World War I. In 1933 she was awarded the Prix Femina Americaine “for distinguished literary accomplishments.” She died in 1947.
Photo: AKG London
Table of Contents
Coming, Aphrodite! Introduction by Cynthia Griffin Wolff
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Text
YOUTH AND THE BRIGHT MEDUSA
Coming, Aphrodite!
The Diamond Mine
A Gold Slipper
Scandal
Paul's Case
A Wagner Matinée
The Sculptor's Funeral
"A Death in the Desert"
UNCOLLECTED STORIES
Peter (1892)
The Profile (1907)
The Enchanted Bluff (1909)
The Joy of Nelly Deane (1911)
Behind the Singer Tower (1912)
FROM OBSCURE DESTINIES (1932) Old Mrs. Harris
Explanatory Notes