A Lost Lady

Introduction

This is a free study guide to A Lost Lady written by Willa Sibert Cather. Cather based the story on her memory of the Garbers of Red Cloud, Nebraska. Silas Garber (1833-1905) had been a captain in the Union army and a builder for the Burlington railroad. He was a founder of the town of Red Cloud, president of the Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank there, and the fourth Governor of Nebraska (1875-1879). His wife, Lyra (1855-1921), was the model for Marian Forrester, and like Marian, was twenty-five years younger, his second wife from California. Please click on the literary analysis category you wish to be displayed. We have chapter by chapter summaries and analysis. Back and Next buttons can guide you through all the sections or you can choose to jump from section to section using the links below or the links at the left.