In Willa Cather's own estimation, My Antonia, first published in 1918, was “the best thing I've ever done.” An enduring paperback bestseller on Houghton Mifflin's literary list, this hauntingly eloquent classic now boasts a new foreword by Kathleen Norris, Cather's soulmate of the plains. Infused with a gracious passion for the land, My Antonia embraces its uncommon subject - the hardscrabble life of the pioneer woman on the prairie - with poetic certitude, rendering a deeply moving portrait of an entire community. Through Jim Burden's endearing, smitten voice, we revisit the remarkable vicissitudes of immigrant life in the Nebraska heartland with all its insistent bonds. Guiding the way are some of literature's most beguiling characters: the Russian brothers plagued by memories of a fateful sleigh ride, Antonia's desperately homesick father and self-indulgent mother, and the coy Lena Lingard.

INTRODUCTION

CHRONOLOGY OF WILLA CATHER'S LIFE

  AND WORK

HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF My Antonia

My Antonia

AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION

 BooK I.THE SHIMERDAS

 BOOK H. THE HIRED GIRLS

BOOK III. LENA LINGARD

BOOK IV. THE PIONEER WOMAN'S STORY

 BOOK V. CUZAK'S BOYs

NOTES

INTERPRETIVE NOTES

CRITICAL COMMENTARY

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE INTERESTED READER