My Ántonia, by
Willa Cather, is part of the
Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the
general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of
Barnes & Noble Classics:
New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and
endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions
to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed
to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical,
and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.
“No romantic novel ever written in America . . . is one half so beautiful as My Ántonia.” —H. L. Mencken
Widely recognized as
Willa Cather’s greatest novel,
My Ántonia is a soulful and rich portrait of a pioneer woman’s simple yet heroic life. The spirited daughter of Bohemian
immigrants, Ántonia must adapt to a hard existence on the desolate prairies of the Midwest. Enduring childhood poverty, teenage seduction, and family tragedy, she eventually becomes a wife
and mother on a Nebraska farm. A fictional record of how women helped forge the communities that formed a nation,
My Ántonia is also a hauntingly eloquent celebration of the strength,
courage, and spirit of America’s early pioneers.
Gordon Tapper is Assistant Professor of English at DePauw University. He is the author of
The Machine That Sings: Modernism, Hart Crane, and the Culture of the Body, from
Routledge.