Willa Cather 
The Professor’s House (Annotated) 

• This edition includes the following editor’s introduction: Willa Cather, an analysis of the literature of a free and empowered woman

First published in 1925, “The Professor’s House” is a tale by American novelist Willa Cather about dealing with loss and change.

“The Professor’s House” is a novel in three parts and was written over the course of several years. Cather first wrote the centrepiece, “Tom Outland’s Story, ” and then later wrote the two framing chapters “The Family” and “The Professor” as a continuation of the original plot.



“The Professor’s House” follows Godfrey St. Peter, an author and professor, struggling with grief, conflict, and change within his family after the death of a beloved student and his daughter’s ex-fiancé, Tom Outland. The events of the book are precipitated by the professor moving from the house where he wrote a series of novels, which were inspired by Tom Outland’s adventures in New Mexico…