Provides the first history of the North American farm novel, a genre which includes John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Sheila Watson's The Double Hook, and Louis Hémon's Maria Chapdelaine.

Introduction
Surveying the Fields
Early Sowings: St. John de Crèvecour's "History of Andrew, the Hebridean," Patrice Lacombe's La terre paternelle, and Susanna Moodie's Roughing It in the Bush
Laws of Nature: Frank Norris's The Octopus, Albert Laberge's La Scouine, and Frederick Philip Grove's Settlers of the Marsh
New World Demeters: Willa Cather's O Pioneers!, Louis Hémon's Maria Chapdelaine, and Martha Ostenso's Wild Geese
Rich Harvests: Joseph Kirkland's Zury, the Meanest Man in Spring County, Claude-Henri Grignon's Un homme et son péché, and Frederick Philip Grove's Fruits of the Earth
Fields of Crisis: John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Félix-Antoine Savard's Menaud, maître-draveur, and Robert Stead's Grain
The Cycle of Seasons: Louis Bromfield's The Farm, Ringuet's Trente arpents, and Grace Campbell's The Higher Hill
Epilogue
Works Cited
Index