Best Selling Books by Thornton Wilder

The Bridge of San Luis Rey tells the story of several interrelated people who die in the collapse of an Inca rope bridge in Peru, and the events that lead up to their being on the bridge. A friar who witnesses the accident then goes about inquiring into the lives of the victims, seeking some sort of cosmic answer to the question of why each had to die. Is there a direction or meaning in lives beyond that of an individual''s own will? Powerful and Compelling. Thornton Wilder is a masterful story teller and this was his most important novel.

"An Eternal Family narrowly escape one disaster after another, from ancient times to the present. Meet George and Maggie Antrobus (married only 5,000 years); their two children, Gladys and Henry (perfect in every way!); and their maid, Sabina (the ageless vamp) as they overcome ice, flood, and war -- by the skin of their teeth."--Amazon

From celebrated Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Thornton Wilder, three of the greatest plays in American literature together in one volume. This omnibus edition brings together Wilder’s three best-known plays: Our Town, The Skin of Our Teeth, and The Matchmaker. Includes a preface by the author, as well as a foreword by playwright John Guare. Our Town, Wilder''s timeless Pulitzer Prize-winning look at love, death, and destiny, opened on Broadway in 1938 and continues to be celebrated and performed around the world. The Skin of our Teeth, Wilder''s 1942 romp about human follies and human endurance starring the Antrobus family of Excelsior, New Jersey, earned Wilder his third Pulitzer Prize. The Matchmaker, Wilder''s brilliant 1954 farce about money and love starring that irrepressible busybody Dolly Gallagher Levi. This play inspired the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!

“An extremely entertaining array of American life in a bygone era.” — New Yorker The last of Thornton Wilder’s works published during his lifetime, Theophilus North is part autobiographical and part the imagined adventures of Wilder’s twin brother who died at birth. This edition features an updated afterword from Wilder’s nephew, Tappan Wilder, with illuminating material about the novelist, story and setting. Setting out to see the world in the summer of 1926, Theophilus North gets as far as Newport, Rhode Island, before his car breaks down. To support himself, Theophilus takes jobs in the elegant mansions along Ocean Drive, just as Wilder himself did in the same decade. Soon the young man finds himself playing the roles of tutor, tennis coach, spy, confidant, lover, friend and enemy as he becomes entangled in adventure and intrigue in Newport’s fabulous addresses, as well as in its local boarding houses, restaurants, dives and military barracks. Narrated by the elderly North from a distance of fifty years, Theophilus North is a fascinating commentary on youth and education from the vantage point of age, and deftly displays Wilder’s trademark wit juxtaposed with his lively and timeless ruminations on what really matters, at the end of the day, about life, love, and work.

Letters trace the friendship between Stein and Wilder from late 1934 until Stein''s death in 1946

Our town -- The skin of our teeth -- The matchmaker -- The Alcestiad -- The drunken sisters -- The marriage we deplore -- The unerring instinct -- Scenes from The emporium -- Plays for Bleecker Street -- The seven ages of man -- Writings on theater.

Drawing on such unique sources as the author''s unpublished letters, business records, and obscure family recollections, Tappan Wilder''s Afterword adds a special dimension to the reissue of this hilarious tale about goodness in a fallen world. Meet George Marvin Brush—Don Quixote come to Main Street in the Great Depression, and one of Thornton Wilder''s most memorable characters. George Brush, a traveling textbook salesman, is a fervent religious convert who is determined to lead a good life. With sad and sometimes hilarious consequences, his travels take him through smoking cars, bawdy houses, banks, and campgrounds from Texas to Illinois—and into the soul of America itself.

“[Our Town] leaves us with a sense of blessing, and the unspoken but palpable command to achieve gratitude in what remains of our days on earth.”— New Yorker Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of life in the mythical village of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire—an allegorical representation of all life—is an American classic. It is the simple story of a love affair that asks timeless questions about the meaning of love, life, and death. Our Town explores the relationship between two young neighbors, George Gibbs and Emily Webb, whose childhood friendship blossoms into romance, and then culminates in marriage. When Emily loses her life in childbirth, the circle of life portrayed in each of the three acts—childhood, adulthood, and death—is fully realized. Often considered one of the greatest American plays of all time, Our Town is also Wilder''s most frequently staged play. It debuted on Broadway in 1938 and continues to be performed daily on stages all around the world.

Ad in PMLA (Modern Language Association’s journal) Included in Wilder brochure to include this

Over the years the family of the escaped murderer finds itself drawn inexorably closer to the victim''s family.

The Drunken Sisters is Wilder''s satyr play that followed The Alcestiad his adaptation of the ancient Greek "Alcestis" story. Apollo ventures into the land of the three sisters of Fate who control the threads of each man''s life and here in disguise he tricks the sisters into releasing their death hold on King Admetus. His trick: 3 flagons of wine which he declares to be Aphrodite''s beauty drink but which make the sisters drunk. He then foils them with a riddle releasing the king

Thornton Wilder Comedy Characters: 2 male, 3 female In this provocative, sometimes chilling comedy, Wilder renders a child''s-eye view of the grown-up world, as a father, a mother and their three children play a revealing game of make-believe in which the children pretend to be orphans. Startling truths emerge on both sides, as pretense challenges the family to discard the traditional roles of parent, spouse, child, and sibling--blurring the lines between perception and rea

Collected interviews with the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and playwright most widely known today for his play, Our Town

The Bridge of San Luis Rey is set in 18th-century Peru and begins with the collapse of an ancient Inca bridge, sending five people to their deaths. The novel follows Brother Juniper, a Franciscan friar who witnesses the tragedy and embarks on a quest to understand the lives of the victims, hoping to prove God''s divine plan through their stories. The narrative explores the lives of the five individuals, including a noblewoman longing for her daughter''s love, twin brothers grappling with loss, and an aging actress trying to reclaim her former glory. Through this exploration, Wilder delves into themes of fate, love, and the human condition, ultimately questioning the nature of destiny and the search for meaning in life. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder earned the Pulitzer Prize in 1928 and became the best-selling work of fiction that year. The novel explores profound themes of fate, divine providence, and the search for meaning in human lives, raising the question of whether there is a larger direction beyond individual will. Its enduring relevance led to its inclusion in Time magazine''s list of the 100 Best English-language Novels, cementing its place in literary history. This case laminate collector''s edition includes a Victorian-inspired dust jacket.

First published in 1948, "The Ides of March" is a brilliant epistolary novel set in the Rome of Julius Caesar. Through imaginary letters and documents, Wilder brings to life a dramatic period of world history.