{"product_id":"thornton-wilderthe-bridge-of-san-luis-rey-and-other-novels-19261948-library-of-america-no-194-9781598530452","title":"Thornton Wilder:The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Other Novels 1926-1948 (Library of America No. 194)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThornton Wilder was the rare writer whose achievements as a playwright were matched by equal abilities as a novelist. As companion to its volume of Wilders collected plays  The Library of Americas 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. Set in 18th-century Peru  the book is a kind of theological detective story concerning a friars 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: 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; Heavens My Destination  a departure from Wilders historical themes  is a picaresque romp through Depression-era America; and The Ides of March takes up the story of Julius Caesars 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 \"Prcautions Inutiles \" published here for the first time--and a selection of essays that offers Wilders 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.  LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nations literary heritage by publishing  and keeping permanently in print  Americas best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date  authoritative editions that average 1 000 pages in length  feature cloth covers  sewn bindings  and ribbon markers  and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45651829325877,"sku":"ByrdShop_1598530453","price":60.86,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781598530452.jpg?v=1781841583","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/thornton-wilderthe-bridge-of-san-luis-rey-and-other-novels-19261948-library-of-america-no-194-9781598530452","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}