Death comes for the archbishop

This volume contains not only an authoritative text of Cather's popular 1927 novel about two 19th-century French missionaries to the Santa Fe diocese but also 300 pages of supplementary material, including maps, photographs, and other illustrations. Although Cather herself favored the 1929 illustrated edition, the University of Nebraska consistently chooses Cather's first editions as copy texts. The "unusually large number of versions" of Death Comes for the Archbishop complicated the editorial work of Mignon, Link, and Ronning, whose excellent "Textual Apparatus" includes an essay on the printing history, variants, and emendations. Equally fine are Murphy's historical essay and his explanatory notes on details ranging from Native American culture to Catholic feast days. Murphy introduces the lengthy section of notes by observing that "Death Comes for the Archbishop is more than any other Cather narrative a product of research, the fusion of an astounding array of sources that would be disparate if not combined within its text." Produced with the same thoughtful attention Cather bestowed on the printing of her books, this attractive new edition is scarcely less astounding and highly recommended for all academic libraries. J. W. Hall; University of Mississippi

Nebraska pulls out all the stops for this superb scholarly edition of Cathers 1927 novel. This edition includes a newly restored text along with several historical essays and explanatory notes by several scholars. Academic libraries supporting hardcore American literature curricula will want this volume. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.