Lost Lady

A portrait of a woman who reflects the conventions of her age even as she defies them and whose transformations embody the decline and coarsening of the American frontier. 'She is undoubtedly one of the twentieth century's greatest American writers' OBSERVER'Her finest novel . . . A masterpiece' IRISH TIMES'The vivacious Marian Forrester stands as a romantic paean to the pioneer's reckless abandon, counterpointed by the narrator's prim decency' THE TIMESMarian Forrester brings delight to her husband, an elderly railroad pioneer; to the small town of Sweet Water where they live; and to Niel Herbert, the young narrator of her story who falls in love with her as a boy and later becomes her confidant. He witnesses this vibrant woman in all her contradictory facets: by turns faithless and steadfast, dazzling and pathetic, invincibly charming yet dangerously vulnerable to the men she charms. All are bewitched by her charisma and grace - and all are ultimately betrayed.Willa Cather's most perfect novel is not only a portrait of a troubling beauty, but also a haunting evocation of a noble age slipping irrevocably into the past.