The Nature of the Place: A Study of Great Plains Fiction

by Diane Dufva Quantic

The Great Plains has long been fertile ground for literature. The Nature of the Place is a comprehensive study of novels and stories by such Plains writers as Willa Cather, Wright Morris, Mari Sandoz, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frederick Manfred, Wallace Stegner, and Bess Streeter Aldrich. Throughout, Diane Dufva Quantic is aware of the region’s collective social and cultural history—aware of the immensely fruitful clash between that complex history and Plains myth (such as “Garden of the World” and “Great American Desert”). In the vast and changeable Great Plains, as Wright Morris once remarked, “Many things would come to pass, but the nature of the place would remain a matter of opinion.”

203 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 1995

Reviews

[Humphrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright in terms of a survey of works and approaches, but rather ungrounded and unwilling to assemble any framework for connecting the different approaches it cites.

[Bart Schaneman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books about books I've read. Essential reading for Great Plains writers.