Willa Cather was an early 20th century author best known for her novels; O Pioneers, My Antonia, and Death Comes for the Archbishop. In 1906 Cather became the managing editor of McClure's magazine. As a muckraker journalist Cather co-authored a scathing biography of the head of the Christian Science church, Mary Baker, Eddy. Alexander's Bridge is the story of a great engineer who reaches a crisis in his life when his responsibilities increase and his success begins a decline. Through his relations with two women--Winifred, his wife, and Hilda, a young Irish actress--Alexander learns to know himself.