A Lost Lady

A new edition of Willa Cather’s classic 1923 novel, A Lost Lady. Set alongside the transcontinental railroad in the rapidly developing frontier town of Sweet Water, A Lost Ladyis the story of the rise and fall of Sweet Water aristocrats Marian Forrester and her husband, Captain Daniel Forrester, told from the perspective of Niels Herbert, a young man who from afar fell in love with Marian and what she and her family came to represent about the rapidly changing frontier. Like much of Cather’s work, A Lost Lady is deeply thematically and symbolically layered, telling the stories of ordinary people in a frontier America that is rapidly changing. Willa Cather (1873-1947) was an American author known for her vivid depictions of life in the American Midwest. Born in Virginia in 1873, Cather moved to Nebraska with her family at the age of nine. It was there that she developed a deep love of the land, which she would later reflect in her writing. Cather studied at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before becoming a journalist and editor. She published her first novel, Alexander’s Bridge, in 1912, and went on to write several more works of fiction and non-fiction. She is best known for her novels O Pioneers!, My Antonia, and Death Comes for the Archbishop, which all explore themes of the American West and its people. Cather also wrote several short stories, including “Paul’s Case” and “Neighbour Rosicky.” Cather won a Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours in 1923, and her works have been widely adapted for the stage, television, and film. Her writing is characterized by its vivid descriptions of the Great Plains, its focus on strong female protagonists, and its exploration of themes of assimilation and the immigrant experience. Cather’s works have been praised for their poetic prose and their ability to capture the essence of the American West. Willa Cather’s legacy lives on in her works, which continue to be read and studied by readers around the world. Her contributions to literature and her deep love of the American West will never be forgotten.