Death Comes For The Archbishop

by Willa Cather

In 1851 Bishop Latour and his colleague Father Vaillant are dispatched to New Mexico to revitalise its slumbering Catholicism. In this harsh, beautiful and alien land, they strive to blend their own refined French culture and subtle beliefs with the earthy sensuality and vivid traditions of their flock. Moving towards the endless prairies they leave converts and enemies, crosses and occasionally ecstacy in their wake but it takes a death for them to make their mark on the landscpe forever. In this seductive and thoughtful novel, based on the life of a real priest, Cather celebrates both human and religious values and salutes the nobility of an ancient culture.

A tremendous, ranging story, economical and distilled as poetry ... A lovely book * JANE GARDAM *
A powerful piece of writing, rich with the essence of a poor but beautiful country and a simple but dignified people * SUNDAY TIMES *
Quite simply a masterpiece . . . I am completely bowled over by it . . . This will be a book which I go on rereading * A. N. Wilson, TELEGRAPH *

Willa Cather (1873-1947) was born in Virginia where for generations her ancestors farmed land. She became a teacher and journalist and is one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century.