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The Bridge of San Luis Rey
by Wilder, Thornton
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good/Dust Jacket Included
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927 Illustrated by Amy Drevenstedt, with frontispiece and nine illustrations. First edition, first printing. Inscribed by Wilder on title page: "Eliz. and Ina / devotedly / Thornton / New York 1959." Publisher's light brown cloth, front board decorated in green, lettered in black, pictorial endpapers illustrated with a decorative map of Peru. Good or better book, with significant damage and toning to head of spine, light rubbing to corners, a couple of light bumps to board edges, previous owner's bookplate tipped in between front flyleaf verso and half-title page, and a touch of soiling to front free endpaper, pages otherwise fresh and clean; good unclipped dust jacket, with some toning to spine and extremities, some chipping to panel edges and head of spine, tape reinforcement to jacket verso, light chipping along front flap fold, and a small mark on pen to rear panel. Overall, a bright inscribed copy of Wilder's classic novel. Winner of the 1928 Pulitzer Prize, The Bridge of San Luis Rey tells the story of the fictional collapse of an Inca-made rope bridge in Lima, Peru, at noon on Friday, July 20, 1714. The novel is divided into five sections, each of which explores the bridge collapse from different perspectives; the first and last sections recount the event and its memorial as well as Franciscan monk Brother Juniper's six-year effort to chronicle the stories of the 5 victims of the collapse, while sections 2-4 flashback to the victims' lives and the events that led up to their deaths. In addition to being one of his most popular texts, The Bridge of San Luis Rey is credited with establishing Wilder as an important American writer. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Dust Jacket Included.
Synopsis
The Bridge of San Luis Rey is American author Thornton Wilder's second novel, first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. It tells the story of several interrelated people who die in the collapse of an Inca rope-fiber suspension bridge in Peru, and the events that lead up to their being on the bridge. A friar who has witnessed the tragic 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.
Read More: Identifying first editions of The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Reviews
On Oct 5 2010, Sergerca said:
We all have a worldview (don't we?) that influences just about everything we encounter. Literature is no exception. Perhaps that is why I thought the main point of Thornton Wilder's outstanding The Bridge of San Luis Rey was so obvious.In many of the reviews I've read, many have stated that Wilder leaves the main conclusion up to the reader. I must disagree. The final line, so quoted by many of the reviewers, makes it all very clear to me. "All those impulses of love return to the love that made them." Perhaps, had Wilder capitalized the second "love" more would have drawn the same conclusion as I. That love is, of course, the love of the Father. This short book is rooted in Christian realism -- summed up in that final page. Life and God's ways as they pertain to life, are a mystery to the believer. Seemingly saintly people die far too early in inexplicable circumstances-- a bridge that has lasted for centuries one day breaks under the weight of an old woman, a cripple, an old man, a young girl, and a young man. But the "why" is not for us to know. We all must live in the comfort that it is His will that reigns, not ours, and that the love which sustained us in this life will see us to the next. Perhaps Brother Juniper found his answer. I know I recognized mine.
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Details
- Bookseller
- B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- TW029
- Title
- The Bridge of San Luis Rey
- Author
- Wilder, Thornton
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Dust Jacket Included
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- New York: Albert & Charles Boni
- Date Published
- 1927
- Bookseller catalogs
- Modern Firsts; American Literature; Fiction; Signed Books;
Terms of Sale
B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
~ All items are guaranteed as described. We recommend requesting pictures prior to purchasing. ~ Any items may be returned within seven days of receipt and in the same condition as originally sent. ~ We ship with FedEx, UPS and USPS. Please let us know if you prefer another shipping. ~ New York State are required to add 8.875% sales tax.
About the Seller
B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
Biblio member since 2006
New York, New York
About B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
Selling First Editions and Rare Books from all centuries. Specializing in 19th and 20th century literature, modern first editions, signed and inscribed books, early children's literature, and poetry.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Bumps
- Indicates that the affected part of the book has been impacted in such a way so as to cause a flattening, indention, or light...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Tipped In
- Tipped In is used to describe something which has been glued into a book. Tipped-in items can include photos, book plates,...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Chipping
- A defect in which small pieces are missing from the edges; fraying or small pieces of paper missing the edge of a paperback, or...
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
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