Death Comes for the Archbishop: A Classic Novel of New Mexico

Willa Cather

Feb 2024 · University of New Mexico Press

About this ebook

A towering work of twentieth-century American literature, Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop tells the story of the French Catholic priest Jean Marie Latour, the first bishop of the diocese of New Mexico, which was created after the Mexican-American War. With his friend and vicar Joseph Vaillant, Latour makes the long journey to the newly annexed territory of New Mexico. Once "the cradle of the Faith in the New World," now old mission churches have fallen into ruin and a reduced priesthood lacks guidance and discipline. Latour and Vaillant encounter a strange and unfamiliar brand of Catholicism, but in time the two priests learn to adjust to the ways of New World Catholics and open their eyes to Native American religious ideas so seemingly distant from their own beliefs.

This new annotated edition of Cather's New Mexico masterpiece includes an introductory essay and notes by historian and critic Richard W. Etulain.

About the author

Willa Cather (1873-1947) is one of the greatest American novelists of the twentieth century. Her major works include O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, My Antonia, One of Ours (winner of the Pulitzer Prize), and Death Comes for the Archbishop.

Richard W. Etulain is a professor emeritus of history at the University of New Mexico, where he also edited the New Mexico Historical Review (1979-1985 and 1991) and directed the Center for the American West (1989-2001). Etulain served as president at both the Western Literature and Western History associations. He is the author or editor of more than sixty books on the history and cultures of the American West.