The Song of the Lark

‘The world is little, people are little, human life is little. There is only one big thing — desire.’
Published in 1915 and set in the 1890s, The Song of the Lark tells the story of Thea Kronberg, a gifted young singer who blazes her way into the world’s greatest opera houses. Thea’s arduous journey begins in Moonstone, Colorado, a burgeoning Western town, where she is one of seven children. Following an artistic awakening at an Arizona canyon, she eventually finds fame as an acclaimed opera singer, performing in Germany and at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. The second book in Cather’s Great Plains Trilogy, The Song of the Lark draws parallels between the drive of the artist and the quest of America’s early pioneers in the vast West. It is a compelling portrait of the development of an artist, and the struggles and sacrifices that are made on the path to success.