The Bridge of San Luis Rey

The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Thornton Wilder, published in 1927. Wilder’s career was established with this book, in which he first made use of historical subject matter as a background for his interwoven themes of the search for justice, the possibility of altruism, and the role of Christianity in human relationships.

The plot centres on five travelers in 18th-century Peru who are killed when a bridge across a canyon collapses; a priest interprets the story of each victim in an attempt to explain the workings of divine providence.