First published in 1938, set amid the Dust Bowl of the Great Depression, "The Lamp at Noon" is a short story about how a young homesteader couple's competing visions of a better life lead to the death of their son.
The desolate, dust-filled atmosphere of the couple's farm and the story's thematic preoccupations with marital incompatibility and economic instability were likely informed by Ross's experience as a child. Born on a rural Saskatchewan farm, Ross witnessed the breakdown of his parents' marriage when he was seven years old.
Introducing themes and settings Ross would return to in subsequent novels and stories, "The Lamp at Noon" is regarded as an early example of the Canadian prairie fiction genre.
