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The Bridge of San Luis Rey

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

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The Bridge of San Luis Rey

by Wilder, Thornton

  • Used
  • very good
  • first
Condition
Very Good
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Seller rating:
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Item Price
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About This Item

New York: Albert & Charles Boni 1927. 8vo. First edition. 235 pp. Bound in a recent half dark green morocco over green marbled boards. Raised bands to spine with gilt lettering. Top edge gilt. The original endpapers have been preserved. Several b/w illustrations. Wilder's second novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928 . Very Good. Half Morocco. First Edition. 1927.

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
Foster Books - Stephen Foster, ABA, ILAB, PBFA GB (GB)
Bookseller's Inventory #
40813
Title
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Author
Wilder, Thornton
Illustrator
Drevenstedt, Amy
Format/Binding
Half Morocco
Book Condition
Used - Very Good
Quantity Available
1
Edition
First Edition
Publisher
Albert & Charles Boni 1927
Place of Publication
New York
Date Published
1927
Size
8vo.
Keywords
Thornton Wilder,First Edition,American Literature,Pulitzer Prize,Peru
Bookseller catalogs
Fine Bindings; Modern First Editions;

Terms of Sale

Foster Books - Stephen Foster, ABA, ILAB, PBFA

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About the Seller

Foster Books - Stephen Foster, ABA, ILAB, PBFA

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2005
London, Greater London

About Foster Books - Stephen Foster, ABA, ILAB, PBFA

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Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Gilt
The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
Top Edge Gilt
Top edge gilt refers to the practice of applying gold or a gold-like finish to the top of the text block (the edges the pages...
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...
Raised Band(s)
Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
Morocco
Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
Marbled boards
...
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....

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