 First edition | |
| Author | Willa Cather |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
Publication date | 1912 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
Alexander's Bridge is the first novel by American author Willa Cather. First published in 1912, it was re-released with an author's preface in 1922. It also ran as a serial in McClure's , giving Cather some free time from her work for that magazine. [1]
Bartley Alexander is a construction engineer and world-renowned builder of bridges undergoing a mid-life crisis. Although married to Winifred, Bartley resumes his acquaintance with a former lover, Hilda Burgoyne, in London. The affair gnaws at Bartley's sense of propriety and honor.
Professor Wilson arrives at the Alexanders' house in Boston, Bartley Alexander having persuaded him to attend a Congress of Psychologists in the city. He is greeted by Winifred Alexander. When her husband comes home the men talk; Winifred plays the piano for them. The next day, she tells Wilson how she met her husband through her aunt.
On Christmas Eve, the Alexanders prepare for Christmas dinner. Bartley tells Wilson he is having trouble with a bridge in Canada. Later he gives his wife pearl earrings. On New Year's Day, Alexander makes ready to leave for London. On the ship, he endures sharp gales and goes into a bar, where he gambles at bridge, the card game. In London, Bartley visits Hilda and tells her he cannot go on having two relationships; she must forget about him and leave him alone. She is distressed. The day before he is due to return to America however, he takes her out to dinner.
Later, Hugh MacConnell walks Hilda back to her house on a foggy day. She says she isn't attracted to him; they are just close friends. In her house, she receives a letter from Bartley, saying he is going mad away from her. This prompts her to visit him in America to tell him she will marry another man; Bartley doesn't like the idea. They spend one last evening together.
Soon afterward, Philip Horton calls Bartley to Canada to inspect the bridge. Bartley discovers that one of the lower chords is failing, compromising the structural integrity of the entire bridge. Horton had been concerned that the bridge was not safe and had attempted to contact Bartley to have him inspect the bridge earlier – on the very day Bartley was with Hilda. While Bartley is on the bridge telling the work crews to stop working because the bridge was unsafe, the bridge collapses, killing Bartley and many of the workers. Bartley's body is recovered the next day and taken to Horton's house. Winifred comes back to make arrangements for her husband's corpse. Finally, Wilson visits Hilda. The latter expresses her envy of Winifred. Wilson reminds her that Winifred is now bereft and will be haunted by Bartley's death. Hilda concludes that she will be too.
It has been argued that the story might have been prompted by the collapse of the Quebec bridge on August 29, 1907. [2]
Willa Sibert Cather was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Ántonia. In 1923, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours, a novel set during World War I.
A Lost Lady is a 1923 novel by American writer Willa Cather. It tells the story of Marian Forrester and her husband, Captain Daniel Forrester, who live in the Western town of Sweet Water along the Transcontinental Railroad. Throughout the story, Marian—a wealthy married socialite—is pursued by a variety of suitors and her social decline mirrors the end of the American frontier. The work had a significant influence on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby.
O Pioneers! is a 1913 novel by American author Willa Cather, written while she was living in New York. It was her second published novel. The title is a reference to a poem by Walt Whitman entitled "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" from Leaves of Grass (1855).
Lucy Gayheart is Willa Cather's eleventh novel. It was published in 1935. The novel revolves round the eponymous character, Lucy Gayheart, a young girl from the fictional town of Haverford, Nebraska, located near the Platte River.
"The Way of the World" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Home Monthly in April 1898.
"Nanette: An Aside" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Courier on 31 July 1897 and one month later in Home Monthly.
"A Gold Slipper" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Harper's in January 1917.
"Coming, Eden Bower!" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Smart Set in August 1920, and it was republished in Youth and the Bright Medusa under the title of Coming, Aphrodite, with minor alterations.
The Bohemian Girl is a short story by Willa Cather. It was written when Cather was living in Cherry Valley, New York, with Isabelle McClung whilst Alexander's Bridge was being serialised in McClure's. It was first published in McClure's in August 1912.
On the Gulls' Road is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in McClure's in December 1908.
On the Divide is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Overland Monthly in January 1896.
"The Strategy of the Were-Wolf Dog" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Home Monthly in December 1896.
"A Resurrection" is a short story by American writer Willa Cather. It was first published in Home Monthly in April 1897.
"The Prodigies" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Home Monthly in July 1897.
"Eric Hermannson's Soul" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Cosmopolitan in April 1900.
A Singer's Romance is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Cosmopolitan in July 1900.
Eleanor's House is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in McClure's in October 1907.
The Marriage of Phaedra is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in The Troll Garden in 1905
My Mortal Enemy is the eighth novel by American author Willa Cather. It was first published in 1926.
A Lost Lady is a 1934 American drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring by Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Morgan, and Ricardo Cortez. Based on the 1923 novel A Lost Lady by Willa Cather, with a screenplay by Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola, the film is about a woman whose fiancé is murdered by his mistress' husband two days before their wedding. Her uncle sends her away to the mountains, where she meets a man who looks after her and eventually proposes. She accepts even though she does not love him.
Alexander's Bridge public domain audiobook at LibriVox | International | |
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