The Bridge of San Luis Rey Thornton Wilder

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder Flat-signed on the half-title page ink black ink by the author. Pulitzer Prize winning novel by the famous author. OVERALL CONDITION: VERY GOOD-/GOOD+ Published in 1927 by Albert & Charles Boni in New York. First edition, first printing as indicated by 1927 date listed on title page and 1927 date on copyright page with no other printings listed. The dust jacket is from a first edition, 14th printing as indicated by "186th Thousand" on jacket spine. In its original cloth binding. Octavo. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 - December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and for the plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a U.S. National Book Award for the novel The Eighth Day. His first novel, The Cabala, was published in 1926. In 1927, The Bridge of San Luis Rey brought him commercial success and his first Pulitzer Prize (1928). In Chicago, he became famous as a lecturer and was chronicled on the celebrity pages. In 1938, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Our Town, and he won the prize again in 1943 for his play The Skin of Our Teeth. Though he considered himself a teacher first and a writer second, he continued to write all his life, receiving the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 1957 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963. The Bridge of San Luis Rey tells the story of several unrelated people who happen to be on a bridge in Peru when it collapses, killing them. Philosophically, the book explores the question of why unfortunate events occur to people who seem "innocent" or "undeserving". It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and in 1998 it was selected by the editorial board of the American Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the twentieth century. The book is the progenitor of the modern disaster epic in literature and filmmaking, where a single disaster intertwines the victims, whose lives are then explored by means of flashbacks to events before the disaster. CONDITION REPORT: VERY GOOD-/GOOD+ The book is in VERY GOOD- vintage condition. Binding is strained and exposed in several places. Front hinge cracked and front board loose but holding. Rubbed extremities, particularly the spine tips and corners. Some light cloth soiling and stain on bottom edge of text block. Some pages are loosening. Lightly and evenly toned pages which are clean and bright. No writing, foxing or ex libris marks. The clipped but not price clipped dust jacket is in GOOD+ condition. Sun-darkened spine, panels, folds and head and foot (original green turned brown). Large chipping to foot, more moderate to head. Light creasing along folds, areas of rubbing. Front cover art looks quite nice. Please note: I know what it's like to receive items not matching the seller's descriptions or that were poorly packaged and damaged in transit. That is why I offer a 100% satisfaction, money back guarantee, and go to great lengths to accurately describe my rare, signed and collectible books and post pictures of the "actual book." I carefully package and ship your newly acquired treasure(s) and usually ship within 1 business day of receiving your order.