Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) was born on April 17, 1897, in Madison, Wisconsin, and went on to become a successful American novelist, dramatist, and academic. He is the only writer to receive the Pulitzer Prize for both novels and plays. Among his best-known works are the novel, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, and the play, Our Town. Wilder died at his home in Hamden, Connecticut, where he had lived with his younger sister, Isabel Wilder (1900-1995) for many years, on December 7, 1975.
Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Thornton Wilder letters, RLC.Ms.562, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
This collection consists of letters, postcards, and greeting cards sent by Thornton Wilder to both Roy S. and Margaret H. Anderson of Newport, Rhode Island. Also included are letters written by Wilder’s sister, Isabel Wilder, to the couple at times when Thornton was unable to do so himself. These letters typically concern Wilder’s travels for work, plans to visit Newport, and other social acquaintances. Also found within this collection is a letter Wilder sent to Mrs. Paul C. Rogers of Newport, in reply to her invitation to speak at the Art Association of Newport in 1973.
This collection is arranged in alphabetical order and then chronologically within each folder.
Letters and postcards sent to the Andersons were the gift of Roy and Margaret Anderson, March 1, 1990A. Acquisition of the November 17, 1973, letter to Mrs. Paul C. Rogers is unknown.
Prior to processing in 2014, this collection was found in the Steel Cabinet Collection: Drawer 7, Folder 15.
Thornton Wilder correspondence, writings, and other papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.