Bridge Of San Luis Rey

by Wilder, Thornton

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.

First Edition Identification

The first general issue edition of this book was actually released in London, a few days before the first American edition.  In the United States, the first edition was preceded by a very limited "preliminary" print run of around 22 copes, identifiable in part by the lack of a thin green border and printer's device on the title page.  The first general edition in the US comprised somewhere between 7,000 and 9,000 copies.

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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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The Bridge of San Luis Rey
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The Bridge of San Luis Rey

by Wilder, Thornton

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Used - Very Good
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First Edition
Published
1927
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Hardcover
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London: Longmans Green & Co. Ltd, 1927. First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 1927 Longmans, Green & Company TRUE FIRST EDITION, which preceded the US First Edition by a matter of days. A VG+/VG copy of this rare first made even more so by having a splendid **HANDWRITTEN SIGNED LETTER** by Mr. Wilder. The HB… Read more about this item
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by Thornton Wilder

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1927
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New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927 1st ed/6th printing Dec 1927, long inscription on the first title page in author's handwriting and signed by Author and Biller Houser to a Helen Lord, in the inscription gives a hint to who these people were, they were fellow teachers at an all male prep school named The Lawerenceville School in NJ,… Read more about this item
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by WILDER, Thornton

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1928
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New York: Albert & Charles Boni / Grosset & Dunlap, 1928. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. 17th printing. Titlepage with Boni imprint, but spine with Grosset & Dunlap imprint. Fine in near fine dustwrapper with slight rubbing and soiling. Signed by Thornton Wilder and dated in 1931.
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THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY

THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY

by WILDER, Thornton

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1927
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London: Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd., 1927. First British Edition. Hardcover. Fine in a scarce, close to Fine dustwrapper with a small chip at the head of the slightly darkened spine. Precedes the American edition by a few days, of this winner of Wilder's first of three Pulitzer Prizes. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the front… Read more about this item
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by Wilder, Thornton

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New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927. First edition of the author's masterpiece and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Octavo, original cloth, cartographic endpapers. Inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "For Milton J. Lesser with the regard of Thornton Wilder New Haven March 1930." Also laid in is a signed handwritten letter to the recipient from Wilder.… Read more about this item
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by Wilder, Thornton

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1927
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New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927. 1st . Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Drevenstedt, Amy. 235pp.; HB beige w/green&blk.-pic.cover; some rub w/lt.wear on edges; ft.endpapers to illus.pg. detaching,otherwise clean,tight pgs. DJ -facsimile-blue w/blk.-pic.cover; rubbed w/wear on edges&corners; spine sunned; chps&tears. Includes card signed & inscribed to Elinor Randall by… Read more about this item
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THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY - INSCRIBED TO HENRY LUCE
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by Wilder, Thornton

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1927
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New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927. First Edition. Wilder's second and best-known novel, centered around the inter-related histories of five people who plunge to their deaths in 18th century Peru, when an Inca rope bridge breaks. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1928, ranked as No.37 on The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list, and basis… Read more about this item
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THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY

THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY

by WILDER, Thornton

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Used - Briefest of wear to the spine tips of the book. Dustwrapper with a long closed tear along the front flap joint (neatly masked by
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1927
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London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1927. First British Edition. Hardcover. Briefest of wear to the spine tips of the book. Dustwrapper with a long closed tear along the front flap joint (neatly masked by the mylar protector), chips at the spine tips but not affecting the lettering, and general edgewear with the spine darkened. About Fine in a scarce,… Read more about this item
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by Wilder, Thornton

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1927
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THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY, Longmans, Green & Company, 1927, first edition, some foxing and/or off-setting to the end-papers and paste-downs, else just about fine in like dust-wrapper with some closed tears. Very nice. PULITZER PRIZE winner. Precedes the American edition. Along with THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY, Boni, 1929, vg in wraps with decoration and covers… Read more about this item
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NY: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927, 1927. FIRST EDITION PRESENTATION COPY. 1 vol., illustrated by Amy Drevenstedt, inscribed on the title-page "Amicus Amicis hoc erat in votis Thorny to Eliz-Ira-Sus-Judy New York April 17 . 1959." Publisher's original smooth tan binding, titlepage printed in green and black, with the original DJ, not price clipped, some minor chipping to… Read more about this item
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by Wilder, Thornton

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New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927. First edition of the author's masterpiece and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Octavo, original cloth, cartographic endpapers, illustrated by Amy Drevenstedt. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author, "For Rufus H. Hathaway with all the regard of Thornton Wilder Tornoto March 1929." Near fine in a good jacket reinforced to the verso. Illustrated… Read more about this item
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New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. First edition. Boards with some overall uniform light soiling and edgewear, thus very good or a bit better in good only dustwrapper with amateur tape repair to the inside of the jacket, toning and moderate edgewear. Housed in an older worn drop front custom case. Inscribed by the… Read more about this item
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THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY

THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY

by WILDER, Thornton

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New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927. First Edition. Hardcover. The book is slightly cocked. The dustwrapper has mild chipping to the spine tips and the upper front corner. Near Fine in a Very Good dustwrapper. First Trade Edition, with title page printed in green and black. Preceded by the "preliminary issue" of 21 copies and the London… Read more about this item
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The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

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New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927. Early printing of the author's masterpiece and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Octavo, original cloth, cartographic endpapers, illustrated by Amy Drevenstedt. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.
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THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY

by Wilder, Thornton

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1929
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New York: Albert and Charles Boni, 1929. First edition thus. Hardcover. Very good +. Rockwell Kent. Illustrated by Rockwell Kent. Sm 4to. Paper covered boards with wraparound Rockwell Kent illustration, and gilt lettering on vellum spine label. Gilt top stain. 123 pages. Limited/numbered signed: 674/1100. SIGNED by both Thornton Wilder and Rockwell Kent on the illustration facing the limitation page.… Read more about this item
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The Bridge of San Luis Rey

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

by Thornton Wilder

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1963
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Time Reading Program Special Edition. Introduction by Kay Boyle. Cover design and illustrations by Ed Young. Slight sticker residue to front cover. Tiny corner of rear bottom corner missing. Nick to side of front cover. A few small brown spots to page edges. Unmarked.
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The Bridge of San Luis Rey

by WILDER, Thornton

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1927
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New York: Boni & Liveright, 1927. First. hardcover. fine. 8vo, re-bound in full green morocco with a cloth inset from the original pictorial cover. N.Y.: A.&C. Boni, 1927. First Edition .<br/><br/> Presentation copy, " For John, with all my best, Thornton/ Davis, April 1928" . Fine copy of this Pulitzer Prize novel.<br/><br/>
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BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY

by WILDER, Thornton

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1962
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NY, LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB, 1962, 1962. SIGNED BY CHARLOT (ILLUSTRATOR); #40/1500; SLIPCASE FIRST EDITION THUS FINE. Signed by Author(s). F.
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The Bridge of San Luis Rey (w/Signed Bookplate)

by WILDER, Thornton

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First American Edition
Published
1927
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NY: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927. The true first trade edition with the title page printed in green and black. Books shows a bit of shelf wear to bottom edge. Fitted with a later state dustwrapper (published in 1928) that maintains the $2.50 price but has a list of four books on the back panel that were published by… Read more about this item
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THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY

THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY

by WILDER, Thornton (Jean CHARLOT)

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Used - Fine in glassine and a close to Fine slipcase with some soiling
Published
1962
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New York: Limited Editions Club, 1962. Hardcover. Fine in glassine and a close to Fine slipcase with some soiling. Jean Charlot. Tall octavo (6-3/4" x 10-7/8") bound in natural buckram with a silhouette frieze of the Bridge's doomed pedestrians stamped in black on both covers, backed in fine imported black morocco leather. Introduction by Granville Hicks. Illustrated with… Read more about this item
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