The Bridge of San Luis Rey
by Wilder, Thornton
- Used
- Very Good
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
Portland, Oregon, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Signed by Author. SIGNED First Edition. (1st printing with title page dated 1927 and no additional printings on copyright page.) Inscribed by Thornton Wilder on title page inscribed to "Dorothy, with the friendship of her devoted neighbor [signed] Thornton Hemden [?]February 1958." Very Good+ in publisher's cloth with light shelf wear, hinge cracked but holding at p. 30. Lacking jacket. Rare as a signed first.
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
- Singing Saw Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 131129377
- Title
- The Bridge of San Luis Rey
- Author
- Wilder, Thornton
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Albert & Charles Boni
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1927
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
Singing Saw Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Singing Saw Books
Biblio member since 2024
Portland, Oregon
About Singing Saw Books
Scholarly, out-of-print, and used books sold.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- 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...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- 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...
- Shelf Wear
- Shelf wear (shelfwear) describes damage caused over time to a book by placing and removing a book from a shelf. This damage is...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Hinge
- The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.
- Good+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good.
- Copyright page
- The page in a book that describes the lineage of that book, typically including the book's author, publisher, date of...
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...
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