{"product_id":"thornton-wilder-collected-plays-writings-on-theater-loa-172-9781598530032","title":"Thornton Wilder: Collected Plays \u0026 Writings on Theater (Loa #172)","description":"\u003ci\u003eCollected Plays and Writings on Theater\u003c\/i\u003e, the most comprehensive one-volume edition of Thornton Wilder's work for the stage ever published, takes the measure of his extraordinary career as a dramatist by presenting the complete span of his achievement, beginning with his early expressionist experiments and daring one-act plays, such as \"The Long Christmas Dinner\" and \"The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden\" (one of Wilder's personal favorites), ranging through the full flowering of \u003ci\u003eOur Town\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Skin of Our Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Matchmaker\u003c\/i\u003e, and encompassing the intriguing dramatic projects of his later years, such as his adaptation of the ancient story of Alcestis (\u003ci\u003eThe Alcestiad\u003c\/i\u003e) and plays written for dramatic cycles based on the Seven Deadly Sins and the varied ages of an individual's life. Complementing the selection of plays is an illuminating group of essays that captures Wilder's reflections on his plays and contains a revealing epistolary account of the film adaptation of \u003ci\u003eOur Town\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis volume also includes material never before published: scenes from \u003ci\u003eThe Emporium\u003c\/i\u003e, an ambitious unfinished play that, emerging out of Wilder's intense engagement with existentialist philosophy in the postwar years, imagines a Kafkaesque department store whose enigmatic activities are as inscrutable as the mysteries of life itself; and the complete screenplay Wilder wrote for Alfred Hitchcock's film \u003ci\u003eShadow of a Doubt\u003c\/i\u003e just before reporting for military service in 1942. Although faithful to the spirit of the film, the screenplay presented here restores Wilder's original dialogue, some of which (to Wilder's dismay) was altered for the movie. A study of family life, youthful illusions, and the desperation of a criminal on the run, the \u003ci\u003eShadow of a Doubt\u003c\/i\u003e screenplay is a masterful exhibition of the art of suspense and taut dramatic storytelling, and is an essential part of Wilder's oeuvre. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eLIBRARY OF AMERICA\u003c\/b\u003e is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThornton Wilder\u003c\/b\u003e (1897-1975) is the only writer to win Pulitzer Prizes for both fiction and drama. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eJ. D. McClatchy\u003c\/b\u003e (1945-2018), volume editor, was the author of many books of poetry and essays, including \u003ci\u003ePlundered Hearts: New and Selected Poems\u003c\/i\u003e (2014), and the editor of nine Library of America publications. He wrote the libretto for Ned Rorem's operatic version of \u003ci\u003eOur Town\u003c\/i\u003e, taught at Yale University, and served as editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Yale Review.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Library of America","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50359067279634,"sku":"9781598530032","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1d90aa6b-3e80-49bb-9b59-821900f07eb2.jpg?v=1728350311","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/thornton-wilder-collected-plays-writings-on-theater-loa-172-9781598530032","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}