On the face of it, Professor Godfrey St. Peter has a good life. As Cather’s novel opens, he is married, with two grown daughters, Rosamund and Kathleen, who are also married. He has for many years taught at a small college in Ohio, where he is respected and esteemed. He has produced his magnum opus – a multi-volume work on the Spanish explorers of North America – which has won him a distinguished literary prize. With the money from that prize, St. Peter has built his wife Lillian a grand new hom...

This popular Cather novel has a slightly different feel than her other novels. Godfrey St. Peter, the professor, has a cynical outlook on his future, his relationship with his wife, his two married daughters and their husbands, and especially the new house they are moving into. St. Peter wants his old house, his old study, and his memories. Especially the memories of his old student and friend, Tom Outland. The middle section of the book about Outland's earlier life in the American west was perf...

I can't remember (and that's not saying much, as my memory's not what it used to be) the last time I dithered so long before writing a review. Perhaps it's because I ended up strongly identifying with the professor, who is the same age as I am. No, I don't have the issues with my spouse or my adult offspring that he does, but there are other things that can make one feel distant and drained (even temporarily) at such a time in life.The title notwithstanding, this book could also be called "Outla...

Willa Cather has moved into my group of favorite authors: those who create characters and worlds that are consistently intriguing, human, interesting--in the best sense of the word, and real. She also writes in a way that is both simple and beautiful. The Professor's House is my third of her books, after Death Comes for the Archbishop and, more recently, O Pioneers!.In this novel, the titled Professor is actually conflicted, caught between two worlds, that of his old house with the study he has

Professor St Peter and his family are finally moving to the new house after the success of the professor’s historical books on Spanish explorers. But when the time comes to abandon his old, rather uncomfortable and chilly office, St Peter can’t stand the thought, and so he decides to continue working there, bringing back uncalled memories revolving around Tom Outland, a mysterious but highly talented student of his, who broadened his horizons but also his family’s. Willa Cather embodies the wild...

Published in 1925, The Professor’s House is Willa Cather’s seventh book. Compared to the Great Plains Trilogy, written between 1913 and 1918, it is a less satisfying read for me. Cather’s prose retained its spare, clear, and vivid quality. It was at its finest when it was applied to capturing a sense of place or a state of mind. This novel about the emotional dislocation of a middle-aged professor and his growing estrangement from his wife and family had a sadness hanging like a damp cloud that

Professor Godfrey St. Peter's family is moving to a larger and more beautiful home in the midwestern university town of Hamilton. It is a home more reflective of St. Peter's status and accomplishments, but it is not what he wants.This move causes the professor to reflect on his past and contemplate his future. Is he happy? "The university, his new house, his old house, everything around him, seemed insupportable, as the boat on which he is imprisoned seems to a sea-sick man." Frequently througho...

A tough one for Cather readers. She‘s subtle, mixes styles abruptly, leaves the seams, and appears open ended, inconclusive. But does that make it a kind of masterwork or a kind of failure? Any way you look at it, she‘s poking holes in the materialistic roaring twenties and somehow admiring the mystery of American prehistory. Not recommended to the unwary or quick to judge, it maybe rewards openness and reflection. That was my Listy post three days ago. Cather is such an interesting author to

I actually read this before. I have a habit of re-reading books I like during the summer. Why? Who knows?I read this for a grad class on Cather and it blew me away. Strangely intense little book. At first, it doesn't seem to be about much, but it's worth a close reading.Her best known books (O Pioneers, My Antonia) aren't really her best. They are often taught at the high school level, and I think people often think of her as slight. But some of her books, like The Professor's House, pack a real...

My first book by Willa Cather was O Pioneers!, about about which I felt very lukewarm. I picked this up at the annual library book sale, but due to that other experience, I've let it languish. My GR friends have said they like how she writes, and that was sort of the one thing I remember didn't especially impress me. But they are right, because that was the thing I recognized in the very first pages of this. It is varied and interesting.This novel is separated into three parts. The first, and lo...

Well, this was very pleasant and all, but...have you ever heard of a bridge version of a book? Don't feel bad if you haven't; I just made it up. What it is is you know how there are abridged versions of books, where they include the important and exciting parts and chop out some of the meandering and tangential stuff? Have you ever wondered what happens to that stuff they chop out? Well, that ends up in a bridge version of the book, and that must be the version I read because nothing fucking hap...

A beautifully introspective little novel, in The Professor’s House Cather introduces us to Godfrey St. Peter a mid-western university professor. St Peter and his family have lived for many years in an ugly though rather loved house which they are finally moving out of – their two daughters married and off their hands, finally Mrs St Peter can have the house she has dreamed of. As the contents of the old house are moved into the new house, the Professor remains in his study in the old house – sur...

I can't believe I hadn't read this before! Such a wonderful American classic which explores themes of perception & greed really well.

I've recently started listening to a few reading/book podcasts, now that I'm almost two years into my own. I've grown quite fond of The Readers and Books on the Nightstand, and the four hosts of the two shows have some interaction. They will all be at Booktopia this month, and each of them picked a favorite book to discuss that will hopefully also turn into a podcast episode for those of us not at the event. This was one of the books mentioned, selected by Thomas from The Readers. It's funny how...

Willa Cather pops the big question : How do wekeep living when there's nothing to look forward to?Midwest prof in his 50s has finished his book.With 2 married daughters, a bizee wife and thememory of a prized student killed in WW1, hescalpels his soul."He knew that life is possible, may even bepleasant, without joy, without passionate griefs.But it had never occurred to him that he might haveto live like that."

“This book is a mess!” is the thought that popped into my head on completion of the book!On the other hand, it does have some good lines. Cather writes best when describing a landscape, a place, a natural phenomenon. She aces when describing the American Southwest. She draws a person’s appearance with finesse too. In this novel, the middle section has the feel of a separate story. In fact, it was the first part written and was a short story. It is entitled “Tom Outland’s Story”. In this part, To...

Willa Cather shines when she writes about landscapes and weather, and in the Professor’s House she continues to glorify the American southwest, and then adds the tranquility of Lake Michigan and the beauty of the coast of Spain. The book is divided into three parts. The first and last sections are reflective of Professor St. Peter’s life, the middle section returns to the ancient Indian cliff dwellers and the relationship between two cowboys. This section bursts with history, larger than life ch...

I would say that this is a very "clean" novel. The characters are respectful, their dialogues are polished, and there's not a hint of any major mischief in the plot. Professor Godfrey St. Peter is fifty-two. He has two married daughters and a wife (Lillian) of many years. He teaches and writes history books. His family is financially secure, one of his daughters is even rich, having been the beneficiary of his (St.Peter's) former student's posthumous wealth from a gas-related invention. this for...

How The Imagination PersistsWilla Cather's early novels of life on the American prairie, such as "My Antonia" and "O Pioneers" are well known. Her novel "The Professor's House" is much less familiar, but it is Cather at her best.The book tells the story of Professor Godfrey St. Peter. When we meet St. Peter, he is a respected academic and scholar, age 52, who has written an eight volume history called "Spanish Explorers" dealing with the Spanish in Mexico and the American Southwest. He has perse...

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️When I think of Willa Cather I think of My Antonia and Death Comes for the Archbishop, both books that I loved. I think this book is not nearly as well-known although Wikipedia says it was a commercial success when published in 1925. The protagonist in this novel is Godfrey St. Peter, a professor at a small university in the town of Hamilton with a view of Lake Michigan. The book is structured somewhat unusually. Part one is titled “Family,” part two is “Tom Outland’s Story,” and part th...