Great moments in editing …

… The Making of MyÁntonia | Stephen Schmalhofer | First Things. (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

When Cather showed [Viola Roseboro] the manuscript of My Ántonia after multiple rejections, Roseboro gave bold advice: “You have really great material. But you have told your novel through the wrong character’s eyes, from the wrong point of view. If you have the courage to throw the [manuscript] away, and sit down and re-write it from [Jim Burden]’s point of view, you have a great book.” Cather rewrote it, and Roseboro judged the result “the book of a lifetime.”

That it is — except for so many others Cather wrote.