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Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three
Pulitzer Prizes The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had ma ...
— for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''
Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thr ...
'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — and a U.S.
National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...
for the novel '' The Eighth Day''.


Early years and family

Wilder was born in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th ...
, the son of
Amos Parker Wilder Amos Parker Wilder (February 15, 1862 – July 2, 1936) was an American journalist and diplomat who served as United States Consul General to Hong Kong and Shanghai in the early 20th century. Early life and education Wilder was born on September ...
, a newspaper editor and later a U.S. diplomat, and Isabella Thornton Niven. Wilder had four siblings as well as a twin who was stillborn. All of the surviving Wilder children spent part of their childhood in China when their father was stationed in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
and
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
as U.S. Consul General. Thornton's older brother, Amos Niven Wilder, became Hollis Professor of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School. He was a noted poet and was instrumental in developing the field of theopoetics. Their sister Isabel Wilder was an accomplished writer. They had two more sisters, Charlotte Wilder, a poet, and Janet Wilder Dakin, a zoologist.


Education

Wilder began writing plays while at the
Thacher School The Thacher School is an elite private co-educational boarding school in Ojai, California. Founded in 1889 as a boys' school, it is now the oldest co-educational boarding school in California. Girls were first admitted in 1977. The first co-ed gra ...
in Ojai, California, where he did not fit in and was teased by classmates as overly
intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator o ...
. According to a classmate, "We left him alone, just left him alone. And he would retire at the library, his hideaway, learning to distance himself from humiliation and indifference." His family lived for a time in China, where his sister Janet was born in 1910. He attended the English
China Inland Mission OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before 1964 the China Inland Mission) is an international and interdenominational Evangelical Christian missionary society with an international centre in Singapore. It was founded in ...
Chefoo School The Chefoo School (), also known as Protestant Collegiate School or China Inland Mission School, was a Christian boarding school established in 1881 by the China Inland Mission—under James Hudson Taylor—at Chefoo (Yantai), in Shandong p ...
at
Yantai Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...
but returned with his mother and siblings to California in 1912 because of the unstable political conditions in China at the time. Thornton graduated from Berkeley High School in 1915. After having served a three-month enlistment in the Army's Coast Artillery Corps at Fort Adams, Rhode Island, in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
(rising to the rank of corporal), he attended Oberlin College before earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1920 at
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
, where he refined his writing skills as a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, a literary society. He earned his
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in French literature from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
in 1926.


Career

After graduating, Wilder went to Italy and studied
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...
and Italian (1920–21) as part of an eight-month residency at The American Academy in Rome, and then taught French at the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, beginning in 1921. 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). He resigned from the Lawrenceville School in 1928. From 1930 to 1937 he taught at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, during which time he published his translation of André Obey's own adaptation of the tale "Le Viol de Lucrece" (1931) under the title "Lucrece" (Longmans Green, 1933). 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 ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thr ...
'', and he won the prize again in 1943 for his play '' The Skin of Our Teeth''.
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
saw Wilder rise to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Air Force Intelligence, first in Africa, then in Italy until 1945. He received several awards for his military service.The American Legion of Merit and
Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. W ...
, ''Chevalier'' of the '' Legion d'Honneur'' from France, and an honorary
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) from Britain.
He went on to be a visiting professor at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
, where he served for a year as the Charles Eliot Norton professor. 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 is an international peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (English: ''German Publishers and Booksellers Association''), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Paulskirche in ...
in 1957 and the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
in 1963. In 1968 he won the
National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...
for his novel ''The Eighth Day''. Proficient in four languages, Wilder translated plays by
André Obey André Obey (; 8 May 1892 at Douai, France – 11 April 1975 at Montsoreau, near the river Loire) was a prominent French playwright during the inter-war years, and into the 1950s. He began as a novelist and produced an autobiographical novel ab ...
and
Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...
. He wrote the libretti of two operas, '' The Long Christmas Dinner'', composed by
Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...
, and ''The Alcestiad'', composed by
Louise Talma Louise Juliette Talma (October 31, 1906August 13, 1996) was an American composer, academic, and pianist. After studies in New York and in France, piano with Isidor Philipp and composition with Nadia Boulanger, she focused on composition from 193 ...
and based on his own play. Alfred Hitchcock, whom he admired, asked him to write the screenplay of his thriller '' Shadow of a Doubt'', and he completed a first draft for the film. ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' (1927) tells the story of several unrelated people who happen to be on a bridge in
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
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 was quoted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair during the memorial service for victims of the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
in 2001. Since then its popularity has grown enormously. The book is the progenitor of the modern disaster epic in literature and film-making, where a single disaster intertwines the victims, whose lives are then explored by means of flashbacks to events before the disaster. Wilder wrote ''
Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thr ...
'', a popular play (and later film) set in fictional Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. It was inspired in part by Dante's ''Purgatorio'' and in part by his friend Gertrude Stein's novel ''The Making of Americans''. Wilder suffered from writer's block while writing the final act. ''Our Town'' employs a choric narrator called the
Stage Manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...
and a minimalist set to underscore the human experience. Wilder himself played the Stage Manager on Broadway for two weeks and later in summer stock productions. Following the daily lives of the Gibbs and Webb families, as well as the other inhabitants of Grover's Corners, the play illustrates the importance of the universality of the simple, yet meaningful lives of all people in the world in order to demonstrate the value of appreciating life. The play won the 1938 Pulitzer Prize. In 1938,
Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pr ...
directed a Broadway production of '' The Merchant of Yonkers'', which Wilder had adapted from
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n playwright Johann Nestroy's ''
Einen Jux will er sich machen ''Einen Jux will er sich machen'' (1842) (''He Will Go on a Spree'' or ''He'll Have Himself a Good Time''), is a three-act musical play, designated as a Posse mit Gesang ("farce with singing"), by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy. It was adapted ...
'' (1842). It was a failure, closing after 39 performances. His play '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' opened in New York on November 18, 1942, featuring Fredric March and Tallulah Bankhead. Again, the themes are familiar – the timeless human condition; history as progressive, cyclical, or entropic; literature, philosophy, and religion as the touchstones of civilization. Three acts dramatize the travails of the Antrobus family, allegorizing the alternate history of mankind. It was claimed by Joseph Campbell and Henry Morton Robinson, authors of '' A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake'', that much of the play was the result of unacknowledged borrowing from
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...
's last work. Joseph Campbell and Henry Morton Robinson published a pair of reviews-cum-denunciations entitled "The Skin of ''Whose'' Teeth?" in the '' Saturday Review'' immediately after the play's debut; these created a huge uproar at the time. Campbell's reprints the reviews and discusses the controversy. In his novel '' The Ides of March'' (1948), Wilder reconstructed the characters and events leading to, and culminating in, the assassination of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
. He had met
Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...
on a U.S. lecture tour after the war, and was under the influence of
existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and val ...
, although rejecting its
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
implications. In 1954,
Tyrone Guthrie Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at ...
encouraged Wilder to rework ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' into ''
The Matchmaker ''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play ''The Merchant of Yonkers''. History The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' had been extend ...
''. This time the play opened in 1955 and enjoyed a healthy Broadway run of 486 performances with Ruth Gordon in the title role, winning a
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...
for Guthrie, its director. It became the basis for the hit 1964 musical '' Hello, Dolly!'', with a book by Michael Stewart and score by
Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyrici ...
. In 1960, Wilder was awarded the first ever Edward MacDowell Medal by
The MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...
for outstanding contributions to American culture. In 1962 and 1963, Wilder lived twenty months in the small town of
Douglas, Arizona Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States that lies in the north-west to south-east running Sulpher Springs Valley. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico at Agua Prieta and a history of mining. The population was 16,531 ...
, apart from family and friends. There he started his longest novel, ''The Eighth Day'', which went on to win the
National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...
. According to Harold Augenbraum in 2009, it "attack dthe big questions head on, ... mbeddedin the story of small-town America". His last novel, '' Theophilus North'', was published in 1973, and made into the film '' Mr. North'' in 1988. The Library of America republished all of Wilder's plays in 2007, together with some of his writings on the theater and the screenplay of ''Shadow of a Doubt''. In 2009, a second volume was released, containing his first five novels, six early stories, and four essays on fiction. Finally, the third and final volume in the Library of America series on Wilder was released in 2011, containing his last two novels ''The Eighth Day'' and ''Theophilus North'', as well as four autobiographical sketches.


Personal life

Six years after Wilder’s death, Samuel Steward wrote in his autobiography that he had sexual relations with him. In 1937, Gertrude Stein had given Steward, then a college professor, a letter of introduction to Wilder. According to Steward, Alice B. Toklas told him that Wilder liked him and that Wilder had reported he was having trouble starting the third act of ''Our Town'' until he and Steward walked around Zürich all night in the rain and the next day wrote the whole act, opening with a crowd in a rainy cemetery. Penelope Niven disputes Steward's claim of a relationship with Wilder and, based on Wilder's correspondence, says Wilder started work on the third act of ''Our Town'' and completed it several months later, and all of this happened before his first meeting with Samuel Steward. Robert Gottlieb, reviewing Penelope Niven's work in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' in 2013, claimed Wilder had become infatuated by a man, not identified by Gottlieb, and Wilder’s feeling were not reciprocated. Gottlieb asserted that "Niven ties herself in knots in her discussion of Wilder’s confusing sexuality" and that "His interest in women was unshakably nonsexual." He takes Steward's view that Wilder was a latent homosexual but never comfortable with sex. Wilder had a wide circle of friends, including writers
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda Fitzgerald, Toklas,
Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...
, and Stein; actress Ruth Gordon; fighter Gene Tunney; and socialite Sibyl, Lady Colefax.


Death

From the earnings of ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'', in 1930 Wilder built a house for his family in Hamden, Connecticut. His sister Isabel lived there for the rest of her life. This became his home base, although he traveled extensively and lived away for significant periods. He died in this house on December 7, 1975, of
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...
. He was interred at Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hamden, Connecticut.


Bibliography


Plays

* ''The Trumpet Shall Sound'' (1926) * ''The Angel That Troubled the Waters and Other Plays'' (1928): **"Nascuntur Poetae" **"Proserpina and the Devil" **"Fanny Otcott" **"Brother Fire" **"The Penny That Beauty Spent" **"The Angel on the Ship" **"The Message and Jehanne" **"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" **"Centaurs" **"Leviathan" **"And the Sea Shall Give Up Its Dead" **"The Servant's Name Was Malchus" **"Mozart and the Gray Steward" **"Hast Thou Considered My Servant Job?" **"The Flight Into Egypt" **"The Angel That Troubled the Waters" * ''The Long Christmas Dinner and Other Plays in One Act'' (1931): ** '' The Long Christmas Dinner'' ** ''Queens of France'' ** ''Pullman Car Hiawatha'' ** ''Love and How to Cure It'' ** ''Such Things Only Happen in Books'' ** '' The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden'' * ''
Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thr ...
'' (1938)—won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama"Drama"
''Past winners & finalists by category''. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
* '' The Merchant of Yonkers'' (1938) * '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' (1942)—won the Pulitzer Prize * ''
The Matchmaker ''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play ''The Merchant of Yonkers''. History The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' had been extend ...
'' (1954)—revised from ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' * ''The Alcestiad: Or, a Life in the Sun'' (1955) * ''Childhood'' (1960) * ''Infancy'' (1960) * ''Plays for Bleecker Street'' (1962) * ''The Collected Short Plays of Thornton Wilder Volume I'' (1997): ** '' The Long Christmas Dinner'' ** ''Queens of France'' ** ''Pullman Car Hiawatha'' ** ''Love and How to Cure It'' ** ''Such Things Only Happen in Books'' ** '' The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden'' ** ''The Drunken Sisters'' ** ''Bernice'' ** ''The Wreck on the Five-Twenty-Five'' ** ''A Ringing of Doorbells'' ** ''In Shakespeare and the Bible'' ** ''Someone from Assisi'' ** ''Cement Hands'' ** ''Infancy'' ** ''Childhood'' ** ''Youth'' ** ''The Rivers Under the Earth'' ** ''Our Town''


Films

* '' Shadow of a Doubt'' (1943)


Novels

* ''The Cabala'' (1926) * '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' (1927)—won the
Pulitzer Prize for the Novel The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...
* ''
The Woman of Andros ''The Woman of Andros'' is a 1930 novel by Thornton Wilder. Inspired by ''Andria'', a comedy by Terence, it was the third-best selling book in the United States in 1930. The novel is set on the fictional Greek island of Brynos in the pre-Chris ...
'' (1930)—based on ''
Andria Andria (; Barese: ) is a city and '' comune'' in Apulia ( southern Italy). It is an agricultural and service center, producing wine, olives and almonds. It is the fourth-largest municipality in the Apulia region (behind Bari, Taranto, and Fogg ...
'', a comedy by
Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...
* ''Heaven's My Destination'' (1935) * ''
Ides of March The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BC, it became ...
'' (1948) * '' The Eighth Day'' (1967)—won the
National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...
(With an essay by Harold Augenbraum from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.) * '' Theophilus North'' (1973)—reprinted as ''Mr. North'' following the appearance of the film of the same name


Collections

* * *


Further reading

* Gallagher-Ross, Jacob. 2018. "Theaters of the Everyday". Evanston: Northwestern University Press. . * * Kennedy, Harold J. 1978. "No Pickle, No Performance. An Irreverent Theatrical Excursion from Tallulah to Travolta". Doubleday & Co.


Notes


References


External links

*
The Thornton Wilder Society
* * * Retrieved on May 18, 2009 *
Thornton Wilder Collection
at the Harry Ransom Center *
Biography from The Thornton Wilder Society


* Thornton Wilder Papers, Yale Collection of American Literature. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. * Thornton Wilder Collection. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Finding aid to Thornton Wilder letters at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.Guide to the Thornton Wilder Papers 1939–1968
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilder, Thornton 1897 births 1975 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American novelists American Congregationalists American male novelists United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni Harvard Divinity School faculty National Book Award winners Oberlin College alumni Writers from Madison, Wisconsin People from Ojai, California Princeton University alumni Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Pulitzer Prize for the Novel winners Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) United States Army Air Forces officers University of Chicago faculty Yale University alumni MacDowell Colony fellows United States Army colonels American male dramatists and playwrights Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients 20th-century American male writers The Thacher School alumni Novelists from California Novelists from Illinois Novelists from Massachusetts People from Maple Bluff, Wisconsin Christian novelists Military personnel from California