
A Lost Lady
by Willa Cather
- First published
- 1923
- Reading level
- Easy
- Price
- Free
About the book
"A Lost Lady" by Willa Cather is a novel published in 1923. It follows Marian Forrester, a charming socialite in the western railroad town of Sweet Water, as she navigates relationships with various suitors while her aging pioneer husband declines. Through young Niel Herbert's eyes, the story traces Marian's social fall, symbolizing the end of the American frontier and the shift from noble pioneering ideals to an era of capitalist exploitation. This influential work notably inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."
- Nebraska
- Psychological fiction
- Domestic fiction
- Married women
- Frontier and pioneer life
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #65636. A Lost Lady on Wikipedia.











