Modernism and Mildred Walker is the first full-length critical study of the major fictional works of this American author whose life spanned the twentieth century (1905–98) and whose literary production spanned almost three-quarters of a century. A highly regarded chronicler of New England and the American West, she is also appreciated for her portrayal of women characters and the complexity of women’s roles. Long beloved by readers of Montana fiction, Mildred Walker’s novels have been dismissed by some critics as only of regional interest, and, as Carmen Pearson argues, have not been explored and appreciated from other critical perspectives and by other audiences.
In this persuasive new study, Pearson offers a new and decidedly western interpretation of Modernism as a critical tool and proposes a variety of readings and interpretations designed to emphasize the relationship between cultural production in the West and modernism. She encourages readers and students of literature to reappraise Walker’s work and to undertake further critical studies of their own.