Death comes for the archbishop
By: Willa Cather ; historical essay and explanatory notes by John J. Murphy ; textual editing by Charles W. Mignon with Frederick M. Link and Kari A. Ronning.
Contributors: Murphy, John J. 1933-; Mignon, Charles W.
Series: The Willa Cather scholarly edition
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Lincoln
Language: eng
Number of pages: 614
Subjects: Clergy -- Fiction; New Mexico -- Fiction
Description: Death Comes for the Archbishop sprang from Willa Cather's love for the land and cultures of the American Southwest. Published in 1927 to both praise and perplexity, it has since claimed for itself a major place in twentieth-century literature.

The narrative follows Bishop Jean Latour and Father Joseph Vaillant, friends since their childhood in France, as they organize the new Roman Catholic diocese of Santa Fe subsequent to the Mexican War. While seeking to revive the church and build a cathedral in the desert, the clerics, like their historical prototypes, Bishop Jean Laury and Father Joseph Machebeuf, face religious corruption, natural adversity, and the loneliness of living in a strange and unforgiving land.

The historical essay traces the artistic and spiritual development that led to its writing. The broad-ranging explanatory notes illuminate the elements of French, Mexican, Hispanic, and Native American cultures that meet in the course of the narrative, they also explain the part played by the land and its people - their history, religion, art, and languages.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 505-512).