The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Published in 1927, this novel opens in 1714 when a rope bridge in Peru breaks and five travellers fall. A Franciscan, Brother Juniper, investigates the victims' lives to see whether the accident was chance or divine intention. The linked portraits follow the Marquesa de Montemayor and her companion, the orphaned twins Manuel and Esteban, and the showman Uncle Pio with the actress he has trained. Lima's viceregal society and the convent of Santa Maria supply the background. The book is a study of love and accident, not a theological treatise.

Bound in dark brown canvas blocked with a design. Black slipcase.