Thornton Wilder

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Thornton Niven Wilder is the only American writer to receive Pulitzer Prizes for both Drama (

Our Town

in 1938 and

The Skin of Our Teeth

in 1943) and Fiction (

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

in 1928). He also received the National Book Award for the novel

The Eighth Day

in 1968. Widely popular both in the United States and Europe, his work nevertheless inspired a number of critical controversies. A gifted prose stylist, an innovative and influential playwright, and a fiction writer who experimented with a number of forms, he is sometimes accused of creating a sentimental picture of America. Unarguably,

Our Town

is one of the most significant works of American literature in the twentieth century and almost certainly the most frequently produced American play.

Wilder’s family came from New

2432 words

Citation: Wheatley, Christopher. "Thornton Wilder". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 March 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4721, accessed 19 March 2024.]

4721 Thornton Wilder 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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