My Ántonia ; a complete study guide with introduction, contextualization, biography and analysis

My Ántonia is a novel published in 1918 by American writer Willa Cather, considered one of her best works. It is the final book of her "prairie trilogy" of novels, preceded by O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark.

The novel tells the stories of an orphaned boy from Virginia, Jim Burden, and the elder daughter in a family of Bohemian immigrants, Ántonia Shimerda, who are each brought as children to be pioneers in Nebraska towards the end of the 19th century.

• Both the pioneers who first break the prairie sod for farming, as well as of the harsh but fertile land itself, feature in this American novel.
• The first year in the very new place leaves strong impressions in both children, affecting them lifelong.
• This novel is considered Cather's first masterpiece. Cather was praised for bringing the American West to life and making it personally interesting.