Thornton Wilder:The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Other Novels 1926-1948 (Library of America No. 194) (Hardcover)

~ Thornton Wilder (Author), J. D. McClatchy (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Thornton Wilder was the rare writer whose achievements as a playwright were matched by equal abilities as a novelist. As companion to its volume of Wilder's collected plays, The Library of America's edition of his early novels and stories brings together five novels that highlight his wit, erudition, innovative formal structures, and philosophical wisdom. Drawing on the post-collegiate year he spent in Rome, Wilder fashioned in The Cabala a tale of youthful enchantment with the Eternal City in the form of a fictitious memoir of an American student and the enigmatic coterie of noble Romans who draw him into their midst. He followed this debut novel two years later with The Bridge of San Luis Rey, which catapulted him to literary prominence and earned him the first of his three Pulitzer prizes. "The Bridge," Wilder later wrote, "asked the question whether the intention that lies behind love was sufficient to justify the desperation of living." Set in 18th-century Peru, the book is a kind of theological detective story concerning a friar's investigations into the lives of five individuals before they were killed in a bridge collapse. An elegantly told parable, with credible historical ambience and psychologically rounded characters, The Bridge of San Luis Rey is primarily a probing inquiry into the nature of destiny and divine intention: Why did God allow these particular people to die?

The Woman of Andros, based on the Andria of Roman writer Terence, is a meditation on the ancient world filtered through the sensibility of a meditative courtesan; Heaven's My Destination, a departure from Wilder's historical themes, is a picaresque romp through Depression-era America; and The Ides of March takes up the story of Julius Caesar's assassination by imagining the exchange of letters among such prominent ancient figures as Catullus, Cleopatra, Cicero, and Caesar himself, "groping in the open seas of his unlimited power for the first principles which should guide him." The volume concludes with a selection of early short stories-among them "Précautions Inutiles," published here for the first time-and a selection of essays that offers Wilder's insights into the works of Stein and Joyce, as well as a lecture on letter writers that bears on both The Bridge of San Luis Rey and The Ides of March.

About the Author

J. D. McClatchy, editor, is the author of many books of poetry and essays, including, for The Library of America, American Writers at Home. He wrote the libretto for Ned Rorem's operatic version of Wilder's Our Town. He teaches at Yale University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 750 pages
• Publisher: The Library of America (September 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598530453
• ISBN-13: 978-1598530452
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,945 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent compendium, October 30, 2009

By	Samuel J. Mcnaughton "MacInSyr" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

The Library of America is a "can't lose" situation for purchasers and this volume is no exception. The book includes an excellent selection, is intelligently edited, includes a good summary of Wilder's life, is bound and printed well, and is a financial bargain.

5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great texts, but needs better notes from editor, August 22, 2009

By	J. Gravener (San Francisco) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't know why, but I have often found myself drawn to the works of Wilder, and I was sol glad to see this collection of Wilder's early writings. There is no denying the power of :The Bridge of San Luis Rey." I have no qualms with the texts themselves, but the editorial aspect bothers me. Wilder's sexuality is completely left out, and this is important when you consider that the third act of "Our Town" (not in this text) was drafted at the home of his lover, Samuel Steward. Steward's pen name, Phil Andros, is also shared by Wilder's novel "The Woman of Andros." Coincidence? I think not. Again, I love the Library of America (I have just about every volume), and I love the novels in this collection, but the editor, J.D. McClatchy could have been a little more honest in his notes.