Showing results for title "A Lost Lady", by author "Willa Cather" in Literature & Fiction

In Lost Lady, young Niel Herbert finds himself captivated by the enchanting Marian Forrester, the alluring wife of a railroad magnate. However, when he uncovers her affair with another man, his admiration shatters, leading him to question everything he once believed in about her and the ideals she embodied. Content warning includes one use of the N-word. - Summary by Rob Marland

In this captivating tale, the enchanting Marian Forrester, wife of a railroad pioneer, effortlessly wins the admiration of everyone around her. Young Niel Herbert is no exception; he has cherished Mrs. Forresters grace and charm since childhood. Yet, as he matures, Niel is confronted with the unsettling realization that the woman he idolizes is not who she appears to be. Please note Content warning for one use of the N-word (Part 1, Chapter 8). (Summary by cadastra)

Marian Forrester arrives in Sweet Water as the treasured bride of a retired builder. To her husband she embodies the idealism of this railroad town on the Western plains. And to Niel Herbert, a smitten young local boy, she’s so perfect as to belong to a different world. But as Niel comes of age, the fortunes of Sweet Water decline, and as the promise of the frontier fades, his perception of the fallible woman he has idolized since boyhood is shattered.

To the people of Sweet Water, a fading railroad town on the Western plains, Mrs. Forrester is the resident aristocrat, at once gracious and comfortably remote. To her aging husband, she is a treasure whose value increases as his powers fail. To Niel Herbert, who falls in love with her as a boy and becomes her confidant as a man, Mrs. Forrester is by turns steadfast and faithless, dazzling and pathetic.

A Lost Lady by Willa Cather is the story of Captain Daniel Forrester and his wife Marian who live in the western town of Sweet Water, along the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1920s. Neil Herbert, a boy who grows up in Sweet Water, admires the Captain and his beautiful, vivacious wife, who have the genteel lifestyle of small-town aristocrats and entertain powerful men. As Captain Forrester's fortune and health decline, Neil becomes aware of a different Mrs. Forrester, one who succumbs to alcohol and opportunistic men.

A Lost Lady is the portrait of a frontier woman who reflects the conventions of her age even as she defies them. To the people of Sweet Water, a fading railroad town on the Western plains, Mrs. Forrester is the resident aristocrat, at once gracious and comfortably remote. To her aging husband...