Thornton Wilder: The Eighth Day, Theophilus North, AutobiographicalWritings

"Thebestthingheeverwrote,"observedEdmundWilsonofThorntonWilder'sNationalBookAwardwinnerTheEighthDay(1967),anenthrallingnovelthatshowsWilderrevisitingthesmall-townAmericaofOurTowntofashionaphilosophicalwhodunit.Awrongfulconvictionformurderandadaringrescueleadtoameditationonjustice,destiny,and"theimpassionedwill,"forwhich"nothingisimpossible."Wilder'slastnovel,thesemi-autobiographicalTheophilusNorth(1973),isanaffectionateportraitofNewport,RhodeIsland,inthe1920sandaplayful,valedictoryglanceatWilder'syoungmanhood.Completingthisvolumearethreenever-before-publishedreminiscencestakenfroman...