Recommended Reading

If you liked My Antonia, try …

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
An orphan raised in Valparaíso, Chile, by a Victorian spinster and her rigid brother, young, vivacious Eliza Sommers follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush of 1849. The adventure is a danger-filled quest that becomes a momentous journey of transformation.

The Living by Anne Dillard
The Living is a mesmerizing evocation of life in the Pacific Northwest during the last decades of the 19th century.

Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig
Doig’s story is an authentic saga of the American experience at the turn of this century and a passionate, portrayal of the immigrants who dared to try new lives in the imposing Rocky Mountains.

The Tie that Binds by Kent Haruf
Set in the stark country of Colorado's high plains, this vivid novel begins in 1898 and covers 80 years of western history.

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
A tale of love and betrayal that still resonates with modern audiences.

Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
This collection of stories offers a richly detailed portrait of a seaport on the Maine coast as seen through the eyes of a summer visitor.

The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton by Jane Smiley
This is Jane Smiley at her enthralling and enriching best.

Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Namesake takes the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound life in Calcutta through their fraught transformation into Americans.

In America by Susan Sontag
In 1876, a group of Poles led by Maryna Zalezowska, Poland's greatest actress, immigrate to the United States and travel to California to find a utopian commune. Operatic in the scope and intensity, the story is richly detailed and visionary in its account of America.