My Ántonia

(1918) is Willa Cather’s most popular and critically acclaimed novel. While working on

The Song of the Lark

, Cather spent part of the summer of 1914 in her hometown of Red Cloud, Nebraska, catching up with old friends like Annie Sadilek Pavelka and the Miner family (Ántonia and the Harlings in

My Ántonia

) (Letter to Sergeant, 15 Aug. 1914; Lee, 1989, 137). Two years later, after spending the summer in New Mexico and visiting Mesa Verde, she made a more extensive visit to Red Cloud. Between August and late November of that year, she helped cook and clean for her family, as her mother was sick at the time, and she relaxed by driving into the country to visit old friends.

One of her most important visits was to Annie, a Bohemian immigrant girl who had become a friend of

5644 words

Citation: Moseley, Ann. "My Ántonia". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 October 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3382, accessed 19 March 2024.]

3382 My Ántonia 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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