About the book:
A rope bridge collapses in eighteenth-century Peru, killing five people, and a friar spends the rest of the novel asking why those five.
Wilder's answer is one of the most quietly perfect investigations into chance, faith, and connection ever compressed into under 150 pages.
Condition:
Great secondhand condition.
Some wear to cover as pictured.
Damage to lower right corner of front cover as pictured - discounted accordingly.
Pages clean and bright.
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About the author:
Thornton Wilder (1897 to 1975)
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Thornton Niven Wilder was one of the most distinguished and versatile American writers of the 20th century. A novelist and playwright, he achieved the rare feat of winning Pulitzer Prizes in both fiction and drama (three in total). After studying at Oberlin, Yale, and Princeton, and serving in both World Wars, Wilder wrote works that combined warmth, philosophical depth, and formal innovation while speaking directly to the American experience.
Wilders writing is known for its gentle humanism, elegant simplicity, and willingness to break theatrical and narrative conventions. He often used experimental structures minimal sets, narrators addressing the audience, or sweeping historical perspectives to explore universal themes in an intimate way. His work celebrates everyday life while quietly contemplating time, death, love, and the interconnectedness of humanity.
Major works include:
- The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about fate and the meaning of life
- Our Town (1938) his beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning play, a minimalist masterpiece about life, love, and death in a small New Hampshire town
- The Skin of Our Teeth (1942) a wild, comedic Pulitzer Prize-winning allegory of human survival through history
- The Ides of March (1948) and The Eighth Day (1967)
Wilders plays and novels remain staples of American theatre and literature. Our Town in particular is one of the most frequently performed American plays ever written, cherished for its profound simplicity and emotional power.
He influenced generations of playwrights and writers with his blend of experimental form and deep emotional sincerity. Ideal for readers and theatre lovers who enjoy intelligent, humane stories that find the extraordinary in the ordinary.
