Willa Cather (1873-1947) was born in Virginia, but as a child, moved with her family to a farm near Red Cloud, Nebraska, where she grew up among the immigrants who are the subjects of many of her novels. Upon graduating from the University of Nebraska, she accepted a position in Pittsburgh editing a new magazine, the Home Monthly. She spent ten years in Pittsburgh, pursuing a career in journalism as well as teaching English and Latin in high school. In 1906 at the age of 33, Cather accepted a position on the editorial staff of McClure's Magazine and moved to New York City where she spent the rest of her life. While serving her apprenticeship in journalism, she began publishing the short stories and the novels that have made her famous. She is best known for her works which are set in Nebraska, such books as: O Pioneers! (1913) and My Antonia (1918); however, her range is much greater than that of a regionalist. For example, one of her finest works is The Professor's House (1925), which is about a middle-aged professor of history, who becomes profoundly depressed by the materialism surrounding him. Other examples of her work that diverge from the "local color" of Nebraska are her later historical novels set in Virginia, Quebec, and the American southwest. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1922 for One of Ours. Besides her ability to capture a sense of place, throughout her work Cather is a meticulous craftsman who developed a wonderfully clear prose style with an effective use of symbol and myth. She ranks among the major American authors of the 20th century.