Willa Catherâs powerful story about a family of farmersâan instant American classic
The first novel in Willa Catherâs Prairie Trilogy tells the story of the Bergsons, a family of immigrants eking out a hardscrabble life as farmers in Nebraska at the turn of the nineteenth century. Alexandra, the eldest child of Bergson patriarch John, inherits the family farm when her father dies. Left to raise her fatherâs three sons and somehow turn a struggling farm around, Alexandra is tasked with pulling her family up by its bootstraps.
Unfortunately, her brothers arenât made of the same strong pioneer stock as she is. When drought, depression, and other agricultural disasters hit, itâs up to Alexandra to pull the family through. Along the way, the neighbor boy, Carl Linstrum, catches her eye. But when families begin lighting out for greener pastures in the West, the Bergsonsâ fortunes take a turn. Can the family survive the brutal Midwest hardships, or worseâthe Bergson brothersâ frivolous nature? Will Alexandra, emotional lodestone and embodiment of the
American can-do spirit, ever find happinessâor love? Catherâs novel shows readers the story of the American frontier.
O Pioneers! is the 1st book in the Prairie Trilogy, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
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