Willa Cather

Death Comes for the Archbishop Willa Cather

Named by the Modern Library as one of the twentieth century's 100 best novels in the English language, and by the Western Writers of America as the 7th-best Western ever written, Death Comes for the Archbishop is a passionate tale of adventure and self-sacrificing faith. When Jean Marie Latour, a French Catholic priest, is placed in charge of a massive diocese in New Mexico, he must travel thousands of miles into an unknown and untamed country. There he encounters hardship and triumph, from encounters with corrupt churchmen and murderous outlaws to his dealings with the kind but complicated Mexican and Native American people that he serves. Inspired by true events, Cather's stories of Father Latour are an observant and beautiful account of the meeting of cultures, the dedications of the individual soul, and the ever-present truth that all of life is an approach toward death.