An enduring paradox of American literature is that a Protestant author, Willa Cather (1873–1947) wrote novels with Catholic themes that have been ardently acclaimed by critics and readers alike for generations.
There is Catholic subject matter throughout Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927), which describes attempts by clergy to establish a diocese in New Mexico Territory; and Shadows on the Rock (1931), set among French colonists in Quebec.
Other Cather novels, too, including O Pioneers! (1913), My Ántonia (1918), The Professor’s House (1925) and My Mortal Enemy (1926) feature Catholic dogma, doctrine and practices, described with affection and sympathy.
