The Ford (1917)

Our college comp lit professor used to say that a work of fiction will have one main emphasis out of these three: plot, characterization, theme. The Ford, however, has all three aspects equally strong. In it, Mary Austin tells a riveting story, reveals keen observational and descriptive powers vis a vis the many varieties of humankind (noble and less so), and educates the reader in Western land use and water rights while she's at it. A more complete novel is hard to find. I loved it.