The Professor's House
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The Professor's House Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Willa Cather (Author), Sean Runnette (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 733 ratings
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A lyrical and bittersweet novel of a middle-aged man losing control of his life that's a brilliant study in emotional dislocation and renewal—from one of the most highly acclaimed authors of the twentieth century.

Professor Godfrey St. Peter is a man in his fifties who has devoted his life to his work, his wife, his garden, and his daughters, and achieved success with all of them. But when St. Peter is called on to move to a new, more comfortable house, something in him rebels. And although at first that rebellion consists of nothing more than mild resistance to his family's wishes, it imperceptibly comes to encompass the entire order of his life. The Professor's House combines a delightful grasp of the social and domestic rituals of a Midwestern university town in the 1920s with profound spiritual and psychological introspection.

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  1. Listening Length
    6 hours and 9 minutes
  2. Author
    Willa Cather
  3. Narrator
    Sean Runnette
  4. Audible release date
    September 27, 2016
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B01LWUI1ED
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 6 hours and 9 minutes
Author Willa Cather
Narrator Sean Runnette
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date September 27, 2016
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B01LWUI1ED
Best Sellers Rank #2,985 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#67 in Classic Literature
#86 in Family Life Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#131 in Literary Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
733 global ratings
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1 Star
Unable to read
The book was printed very weirdly. The pages were upside down and read from right to left (instead of left to right). It is a nightmare
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Top reviews from the United States

Irina S
5.0 out of 5 stars A gem, even for Willa Cather
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2010
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I've read a number of Willa Cather's books, but this novel had escaped me until now. Particularly for being one of her earliest works, written when she was quite young, the novel shows a mastery of the craft and an unusual maturity.

Cather starts out slowly, building scene and character, with her signature sparse and interesting descriptions and phrases--always thought-provoking. The Professor is a particularly sympathetic character, wise and kindly. But the end of the book puts this work into a special category. The writing transforms, mirroring the transformation which occurs within the Professor at that point in his life. He rereads the diary of Tom Outland, an exceptional former student and colleague (the choice of name had to be deliberate.) In Outland's diary of his days in the Southwest, the book attains truly poetic prose and is very moving. This is followed by a remarkably deep understanding on the part of Cather of a usually later-life (if attained at all) state which the Professor undergoes. I've reread this last section several times.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this book. As to this edition, there are a few typos. Those shouldn't be too distracting, at the price.
11 people found this helpful
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Bonnie Koepple
4.0 out of 5 stars Rereading a beloved author
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2024
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I looked forward to rereading this beloved Willa Cather classic. I'm still trying. The gray print and 8 point type make it difficult.
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RJ Olmstead
5.0 out of 5 stars An Experience
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2021
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How refreshing to read a master who breaks the "rules" of writing with elegance and grace. The lavish description opening the story drew me in immediately, as did all the descriptions. I felt an instant connection to Professor St. Peter, and Tom's story of the mesa enthralled me. Each time I had to set the book aside, I found myself longing to return to the Professor and his world. This wasn't just a good read, it was an experience.
9 people found this helpful
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Jill Dianne Swenson, Ph.D.
3.0 out of 5 stars The stone is distinct from the steel
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2011
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I wanted to read something I hadn't read before and didn't already know as a fan of Willa Cather's writing. Call it the intellectual stretch. The Professor's House (1925) is a short book with only three chapters. Now that I read the book I recognize it as three pieces written separate and apart from one another.

The second chapter, "Tom Outland's Story," stood alone for many years as an unfinished work. Today it would stand alone as a captivating short story about the Southwest during the frontier days. Thirty six pages long, this voice is Willa Cather at her storytelling best. It's the story of two young men and their archeological discovery on a mesa. A man's story: friendship, adventure, betrayal and loss. It's a masterpiece of description for a time and a place; the reader is dropped into the middle of the frontier prairie landscape and its human scenery.

The first and third chapters are wraparounds. Seventy pages of narration about the professor and his family and circumstances related to Tom Outland's premature death build up to the revelation in Chapter Two. The third chapter is only thirteen pages long and yet it's where all the plot lines pull together.

The narrative premise pulling these three pieces, written at different times, is that a professor doesn't like the direction his life has taken. Due to circumstances, Professor Godfrey St. Peter has come into more comfortable circumstances as a result of his daughter's inheritance from Tom Outland, her fiancée, and his own writing and publishing success as a scholar. His wife, Lillian, also receives a small inheritance check every month from her family and has sustained all appearances of class for his insignificant income as a college professor.

The professor and his wife Lillian have two daughters; and now two son-in-laws. His own position with regards to his own family as he faces his 50s is at stake. His wife moves into their new house, but he decides to keep his old study in the rackety-trap attic in the old house. He's stuck. He's stuck because of what transpired with Tom Outland. There is mention of a patent and his invention as a student there in the college; the professor and his family had taken Tom in as an unschooled youth and he proved a scientific genius. The exact financials are kept rather discretely; implications are that it makes the professor quite uncomfortable.

The professor won't accompany his family on their trip to Europe for the summer. He spends it in the old house in his study doing as he pleases for the first time since his youth. Seeing Lillian fall in fondness with their sons-in-law, he recognizes he has long ago fallen out of love with his wife.

He finds in the seamstress a confidante over all the years they shared the attic for their "work." She is never sexualized, but throughout the first and third chapters she is the female heroine to the professor. Augusta is St. Peter's rock.

In the third and final chapter, the Professor finally falls prey to the dangers of his woodstove and the weather in his attic. He collapsed into a sleeping stupor in the midst of a rain storm after spending the afternoon and evening contemplating the meaningless of his family relations and career; carbon monoxide filled the room. He welcomed the easy escape, before Augusta rescues him just in time for his family to arrive home from Europe.

Perhaps this felt like a cob job because I bought a crappy paperback edition. The corrupted fonts resulted in a variety of typos and pages 68-72 were duplicated passages. Something tipped me off that the narrative flow was more than a little contrived. It isn't Cather's best novel. Novella is even a stretch. Triptych maybe.

I take some solace in seeing one of my heroines trying to make a living wage from her work. Like many writers, pieces and fragments of our best work lie outside that which is easily marketable. This shows she tried to take one of her gems and work it into a fine piece of jewelry; didn't quite work, but the gem is apart from its setting. And you see how the stone is distinct from the steel. As a reader and a writer I liked looking at more of her writing and career as I see how hard it remains to make a living at this craft of writing.
39 people found this helpful
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Chinese learner
4.0 out of 5 stars Always worth reading Willa Cather
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2023
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Willa Cather had the statue of her unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda today. Glad I had the chance to finish her work today. Soiled reflections of her values and insights but lots of loose threads.
3 people found this helpful
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The Schoolmarm
5.0 out of 5 stars Willa Cather, Brilliant.
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2021
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One of my favorite authors, Willa Cather, writes a story within a story that must have required considerable research. Strong character development takes us into the mind, soul and energy of the professor, as well as the young man who was the heart of the story, Tom.
6 people found this helpful
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Cheryl
5.0 out of 5 stars Professor’s House...
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2019
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This book was fascinating. I could barely put it down! Actually an easy read. St. Peter and family are described in such detail, yet they talk to each other in interesting dialogue.
One person found this helpful
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Tedra Towne`
4.0 out of 5 stars Good story, BAD edition
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2011
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Willa Cather is a fine author. This edition is not. Duplicated pages, symbols and signs for letters make for clunky reading. I would recommend the story but get a different edition for smoother reading.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Tooleap
5.0 out of 5 stars Almost too lovely
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2020
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Beautiful book of an author who seemed to understand the intricacies of human’s soul to the very core. Fantastic language. Lovely read.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfecto
Reviewed in Spain on September 30, 2020
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Perfecto! Es el libro que necesitaba, tal y como aparece en la descripción y en la foto.
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Pauline Johansen
4.0 out of 5 stars Pure Willa Cather
Reviewed in Canada on February 17, 2019
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A story of nuance and grace. Totally believable with characters you end up caring about.
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Imma
3.0 out of 5 stars better that I thougtht
Reviewed in Spain on July 20, 2014
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At University I had to read Wila Cather, And I didn't enjoy it, After years, at the reading club we were asked to read this novel, and I was surprised, I enjoyed it!!
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jw
4.0 out of 5 stars Evocative story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2014
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Reminded me of 'Stoner'. Another take of a dissatisfied American professor, with disappointing women around him. Very odd bit in the middle about a mysterious Mesa in the desert, which is very poetic and evocative, though rather an odd combination.
3 people found this helpful
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