"A spirited and colorful story of the early days of a beloved American writer. Willa's childhood in the primitive beauty of the Nebraska plains had a tremendous influence on the books that were to give her a permanent place in our literature."
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Here, in a spirited and colorful story, the early days of a beloved American writer are re-created. Willa's childhood in the primitive beauty of the Nebraska plains had a tremendous influence on the books that were to give her a permanent place in our literature.
A friend to everybody, impetuous, bursting with life, Willa Cather was a child who wanted to know everything at once. When her family moved from Virginia to Nebraska in the hope that the dry air of the Midwest would improve her father's health, she found plenty of chances to learn new things and make new friends. The vast prairie became a never-ending source of wonder to her.
The Cather's neighbors were widely scattered, but Willa came to know them well. She rode on her pony through the waist-high grass to deliver the rare letters that came to these people with the strange names—Bohemian immigrants, Germans newly arrived in America, hard-working Swedes. A brown-eyed Bohemian girl who lived in a grass "soddy" became her best friend and the inspiration for her novel My Antonia.
After Willa's family moved to the town of Red Cloud, her life changed. The long, lonely rides were replaced by music lessons, the local theatrical, and the wonderful world of books. A German professor introduced her to music. A storekeeper opened for her the door to the classics of Greece and Rome. She came to know flowers as a botanist would.
She learned to explore the world of science beyond the classroom. She went with the country doctor on his rounds and helped him when she could, no matter how difficult the case. She reacted deeply to each new experience and was never satisfied until she had exacted the last shred of information that could be obtained from the life around her.
The reader of Willa will understand how this thoughtful young girl, so eager for life, was able to give to the world in her memorable novels a picture of pioneer life that is a proud part of our literature.
—from the dust jacket
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