 First edition | |
| Author | Willa Cather |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | September 1923 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
A Lost Lady is a 1923 novel by American writer Willa Cather. It tells the story of Marian Forrester and her husband, Captain Daniel Forrester, who live in the Western town of Sweet Water along the Transcontinental Railroad. Throughout the story, Marian—a wealthy married socialite—is pursued by a variety of suitors and her social decline mirrors the end of the American frontier.[1] The work had a significant influence on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby.[2]
- ^ Rosowski 1977, p. 51: "Mrs. Forrster's decline parallels the West's decline; the novel becomes an elegy for the pioneer past".
- ^ Quirk 1982, p. 578; Bruccoli 1978, pp. 171–72.