Death Comes for the Archbishop

Death Comes for the Archbishop is a 1927 novel by American author Willa Cather about the attempts of a Catholic bishop and a priest to establish a diocese in the New Mexico Territory. The story is based on two historical figures, Jean-Baptiste Lamy and Joseph Projectus Machebeuf and rather than any one singular plot, is the stylized re-telling of their lives serving as Roman Catholic clergy in New Mexico.

Plot summary

The narrative is based on two historical figures of the late 19th century, Jean-Baptiste Lamy and Joseph Projectus Machebeuf, and rather than any one singular plot, is the stylized re-telling of their lives serving as Roman Catholic clergy in New Mexico. The narrative has frequent digressions, either in terms of stories related to the pair (including the story of the Our Lady of Guadeloupe and the murder of an oppressive Spanish priest at Acoma Pueblo) or through their recollections. The narration is in third-person omniscient style. Cather includes many fictionalized accounts of actual historical figures.

The novel has been listed in Life Magazine’s list of the 100 outstanding books of 1924-1944; Time’s 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005; Modern Library’s list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century; and Western Writers of America 7th-best “Western Novel” of the 20th century.—|Wikipedia|