The Bridge of San Luis Rey.
New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This is the first edition, first printing of Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Condition approaches near fine in a very good plus dust jacket. The illustrated tan cloth binding printed in black and green is clean and unfaded with sharp corners. We note mild shelf wear and wrinkling to the spine ends, a small bump near the mid-point of the bottom edge of the front cover, an unobtrusive blemish at the middle front joint, and a slight forward lean. The contents retain a crisp, unread feel with no spotting and no previous ownership marks. Age-toning is mild. The topstain retains even hue. The dust jacket is unclipped, retaining the original “2.50” upper front flap price, and substantially complete, with trivial chip losses confined to the spine head and upper flap fold corners. The jacket is clean, spine toning quite even and mild, with even lesser, even toning to the rear face. The jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.
“The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Wilder’s second novel, tells the story of five people who plunge to death when the Incan rope bridge they are walking on collapses. Exploring the events that led them to be on the bridge at that moment inspires a philosophical examination of chance and inexplicable tragedy.”
“When a Pulitzer Prize jury recommended Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey for the 1928 Novel prize, it ignored the rules. The word “wholesome” in the Novel prize definition had troubled juries (and many authors) for a decade, but it was finally gone by 1928. Yet the definition still required that the winning novel reflect the “atmosphere of American life, and the highest standard of American manners and manhood.” Set in Peru, Wilder’s book had nothing to do with life and manhood in the United States.” Nonetheless, the Pulitzer jury was unanimous in recommending The Bridge of San Luis Rey for the prize.
“A 31-year-old Wisconsin native, Thornton Wilder was teaching French at a Lawrenceville, N.J., prep school when he wrote the book. Its success allowed him to resign so that he could write and lecture full time. He used his royalties to build a house in Hamden, Conn., where he lived with his parents and sister. The house was nicknamed “The House The Bridge Built.”The book was a bestseller in 1927. By the time it was awarded the prize, it had been through 17 printings and sold close to 300,000 copies.” Here, a lovely, jacketed copy of the very first of those 17 printings.
Reference: Pulitzer Prize Files. Item #008456
Price: $1,500.00