''Theophilus North'' is a 1973
autobiographical novel
An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. Bec ...
, the last novel written by
Thornton Wilder
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'' — ...
. In 1988 it was adapted for the film ''
Mr. North''.
Plot summary
In 1926 Theophilus North, 29 years old, leaves his four years employment at a
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
school and goes to
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
, to buy a car that a friend sold him. He has no idea what to do next in his life. Arrived in the city, he decides to remain there. He tries to get an income giving private lessons and as a reader for $2.00 per hour, but soon his ability in solving problems helps introduce him to Newport's high society.
Characters
* Theophilus North
* Josiah Dexter
* Bill Wentworth
* Henry Simmons
* Mrs. Cranston
* Diana Bell and Hilary Jones
* Miss Wickoff
* Mr. Diefendorf
* Flora Deland
* Baron Egon Bodo von Stams
*
Style
The novel is written in the
first person; in fact the fictional author declares it is an abstract of a journal. However, a great part of the novel is made of dialogues between North and other characters.
There are fifteen chapters, each one treating a different episode where North is involved.
See also
References
1973 American novels
American autobiographical novels
American novels adapted into films
Harper & Row books
Novels set in Rhode Island
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