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Theophilus North
Marking the thirtieth anniversary of Theophilus North, this beautiful edition features Thornton Wilder's unpublished notes for the novel and other illuminating documentary material, all of which is included in a new Afterword by Tappan Wilder.The last of Wilder's works published during his lifetime, this novel is part autobiographical and part the imagined adventure of his twin brother who died at birth. Setting out to see the world in the summer of 1926, Theophilus North gets as far as Newport, Rhode Island, before his car breaks down. To support himself, Theophilus takes jobs in the elegant mansions along Ocean Drive, just as Wilder himself did in the same decade. Soon the young man finds himself playing the roles of tutor, spy, confidant, lover, friend, and enemy as he becomes entangled in the intrigues of both upstairs and downstairs in a glittering society dominated by leisure.Narrated by the elderly North from a distance of fifty years, Theophilus North is a fascinating commentary on youth and education from the vantage point of age, and deftly displays Wilder's trademark wit juxtaposed with his lively and timeless ruminations on what really matters about life, love, and work at the end of the day—even after a visit to Newport.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
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About the author
Thornton Wilder
231 books511 followersThornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.
For more see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornton...
For more see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornton...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
April 22, 2025
The novel is a sort of fictionalized autobiography… It is a brilliant chronicle of time and manners… The style is very airy…
While growing up Theophilus North had eight successive ambitions… And he shed them one by one as unworthy… Now he has a ninth one – to be free… And this walk of life he finds quite worthy to follow…
He goes to Newport… There he gets a few tutoring and reading aloud jobs… He becomes something like a scholar on relationships of social strata… Staying there he has a series of adventures on the somewhat idealistic side… His valorous behaviour resembles that of a self-appointed knight errant…
Quixotic young men were in great demand in all times.
While growing up Theophilus North had eight successive ambitions… And he shed them one by one as unworthy… Now he has a ninth one – to be free… And this walk of life he finds quite worthy to follow…
In the spring of 1926 I resigned from my job.
The first days following such a decision are like the release from a hospital after a protracted illness. One slowly learns how to walk again; slowly and wonderingly one raises one’s head.
He goes to Newport… There he gets a few tutoring and reading aloud jobs… He becomes something like a scholar on relationships of social strata… Staying there he has a series of adventures on the somewhat idealistic side… His valorous behaviour resembles that of a self-appointed knight errant…
Some of the leaves of Newport’s glorious trees were changing color and falling. I found myself murmuring the words of Glaukos in the Iliad: “Even as are the generations of leaves so are those of men; the wind scatters the leaves on the earth and the forest buds put forth more when spring comes around…”
Quixotic young men were in great demand in all times.
April 18, 2016
Каждого читателя надо предупредить, что это не классический роман, где с героем происходит всякое. Это, скорее, переложение волшебных сказок на тот случай, если бы волшебный помощник стал бы главным героем. И, если кратко, у Уайлдера все отлично получилось, Пропп остался бы доволен.
Если чуть длиннее, то бывший учитель, бывший военный и по-прежнему добрый хитрец Теофил Норт на время школьных каникул решает посмотреть мир. Он покупает подержанную колымагу, которая нагло решает, что "посмотреть мир" и "добраться до Ньюпорта" -- это одно и то же, там же отдает коньки, точнее, колеса, и Теофилу (Тедди) не остается ничего, как снять комнатушку в YMCA, устроиться учителем языков и тенниса и потихоньку изучать Девять Городов Ньюпорта (почитайте, там у него занятная теория).
Каждая глава -- история о том, как Тедди, как Ходжа Насреддин, находчивостью и смекалкой помог тому или иному (часто симпатичному) ньюпортцу жить долго и счастливо. Например, богатого старика спасает от родственников и оравы жадных докторов, охочих до старикова состояния. Заносчивого и закомплексованного парня обучает по-французски похабным выраженьицам и терпению в общении с семьей. Горе-девицу удерживает от несчастного брака с несчастным, который, в общем-то, уже в браке состоит.
Ну, и так далее: сначала немного неожиданно, а потом, если привыкнуть, что главный герой всегда будет в роли клубка ниток, говорящего кота и скатерти-самобранки, становится весело и интересно.
Если чуть длиннее, то бывший учитель, бывший военный и по-прежнему добрый хитрец Теофил Норт на время школьных каникул решает посмотреть мир. Он покупает подержанную колымагу, которая нагло решает, что "посмотреть мир" и "добраться до Ньюпорта" -- это одно и то же, там же отдает коньки, точнее, колеса, и Теофилу (Тедди) не остается ничего, как снять комнатушку в YMCA, устроиться учителем языков и тенниса и потихоньку изучать Девять Городов Ньюпорта (почитайте, там у него занятная теория).
Каждая глава -- история о том, как Тедди, как Ходжа Насреддин, находчивостью и смекалкой помог тому или иному (часто симпатичному) ньюпортцу жить долго и счастливо. Например, богатого старика спасает от родственников и оравы жадных докторов, охочих до старикова состояния. Заносчивого и закомплексованного парня обучает по-французски похабным выраженьицам и терпению в общении с семьей. Горе-девицу удерживает от несчастного брака с несчастным, который, в общем-то, уже в браке состоит.
Ну, и так далее: сначала немного неожиданно, а потом, если привыкнуть, что главный герой всегда будет в роли клубка ниток, говорящего кота и скатерти-самобранки, становится весело и интересно.
June 20, 2021
This is a very difficult book for me to rate or review. I think there are probably a lot of symbolic elements, and those things always go right over my head so I'm not the one to try to evaluate them. The book is semi autobiographical, and the main character has more than a little of the con artist in his personality. The action takes place over the summer during which he is on a quixotic mission to use his personal characteristics to do things he thinks will improve the lives of people he values, though I feel like he does these things more to test himself then for their sake's. Also, he strikes me as a potentially unreliable narrator. I enjoyed reading the book and found it interesting; I kept feeling drawn to read more of it though I couldn't really explain why. 3.5 stars
February 12, 2010
I feel like an old lady at a health resort, reading about a really nice young man, who is so sharp-witted and gentle that one can almost imagine how handsome he is.
(The above is going to be expanded on and spoilers are going to be added).
On the whole, it seems like a book about a self-righteous piece of shit smart-assing around town. This guy is a teacher and went to college, but he seems to have been alert to human condition and has learned how to be smooth to the point of actually helping mentally and socially challenged people. He knows a gazillion European languages as well as some ancient ones and makes use of his knowledge as he gets his jobs in Newport, reading aloud in tongues to rich people and instructing kids in lawn tennis. The book is broken into chapters, each of which presents a social, psychological, medical or other problem connected to a certain member of society, the protagonist being summoned or feeling compelled to rescue the person in question from their predicament. He constructs a plan involving subtle favours from characters who are thus introduced into the narrative, or have been rescued by Mr. North in other chapters. The plan invariably succeeds, leaving the chapter's pet and its milieu in tears of happiness and undying gratitude. The idea behind this structure is to create a fragmentary image of the post-WWI Newport as seen by a post WWII-person as will be read by an old lady in the seventies. The author makes a special fuss about his separating of the city into nine layers (the way Schliemann is supposed to have discovered Troy) and introduces references to the "layers" into the story probably to make us feel better what kind of behaviour is to be expected from the actors. I could never keep up with these numerics. Another point of special importance for the author is fulfilling his ambitions he presents in the first chapter; he lives up to them in that he is something like a detective in one chapter, something like an archaeologist in the other and so on.
I will not dwell on the actual achievements of the guy. The are impressive and largely incredible. People connected to the person in distress may be compassionate or malevolent, but they are always either severely impeded or very dull, at least compared to the protagonist.
He reminded me of Remarque's heroes - men, who are intellectually superior to everyone around them, having even some nearly transcendental knowledge (say, expertise in Han dynasty ceramics), and a long history of liberating suffering. These heros are fun to learn from. Mr. North, however, is somewhat different. He does not shrink from metaphysics. At a certain point he indulges in healing through channeling of secret energies (once he even makes it easy for an old woman to die - something, she says, the Lord does not want to allow her for some reason), and though he keeps saying he is an atheist and "a fake and a fraud" as a healer, still his séance leaves him exhausted, he an barely walk and falls asleep on the stairs or falls from his bike twice. It is, possibly, his gentle humanism he uses to sort out every problem, that he channels. Maybe it is a metaphor. I couldn't tell. In general, the book is full of contradictions. North says he hates generalizations, but you can find a generalization on almost every page. "Well-conditioned women like to forgive when they are asked to" is a good example of the level of generalizations he allows himself.
He is in love with a 14 year old girl (who can blame him for that?) and without thinking twice he condescends to impregnating a shore widow whose husband is supposed to be infertile. His paramours are actually the best part of the narrative. He is very unscrupulous, and what he cannot fuck he is supposed to have fucked before. But obscenities should be kept out of the book.
Nobody talks as a living human being in the book. A conversation is always an exchange of information.
Sorry, I am sick of this book and my own review. It was ok.
(The above is going to be expanded on and spoilers are going to be added).
On the whole, it seems like a book about a self-righteous piece of shit smart-assing around town. This guy is a teacher and went to college, but he seems to have been alert to human condition and has learned how to be smooth to the point of actually helping mentally and socially challenged people. He knows a gazillion European languages as well as some ancient ones and makes use of his knowledge as he gets his jobs in Newport, reading aloud in tongues to rich people and instructing kids in lawn tennis. The book is broken into chapters, each of which presents a social, psychological, medical or other problem connected to a certain member of society, the protagonist being summoned or feeling compelled to rescue the person in question from their predicament. He constructs a plan involving subtle favours from characters who are thus introduced into the narrative, or have been rescued by Mr. North in other chapters. The plan invariably succeeds, leaving the chapter's pet and its milieu in tears of happiness and undying gratitude. The idea behind this structure is to create a fragmentary image of the post-WWI Newport as seen by a post WWII-person as will be read by an old lady in the seventies. The author makes a special fuss about his separating of the city into nine layers (the way Schliemann is supposed to have discovered Troy) and introduces references to the "layers" into the story probably to make us feel better what kind of behaviour is to be expected from the actors. I could never keep up with these numerics. Another point of special importance for the author is fulfilling his ambitions he presents in the first chapter; he lives up to them in that he is something like a detective in one chapter, something like an archaeologist in the other and so on.
I will not dwell on the actual achievements of the guy. The are impressive and largely incredible. People connected to the person in distress may be compassionate or malevolent, but they are always either severely impeded or very dull, at least compared to the protagonist.
He reminded me of Remarque's heroes - men, who are intellectually superior to everyone around them, having even some nearly transcendental knowledge (say, expertise in Han dynasty ceramics), and a long history of liberating suffering. These heros are fun to learn from. Mr. North, however, is somewhat different. He does not shrink from metaphysics. At a certain point he indulges in healing through channeling of secret energies (once he even makes it easy for an old woman to die - something, she says, the Lord does not want to allow her for some reason), and though he keeps saying he is an atheist and "a fake and a fraud" as a healer, still his séance leaves him exhausted, he an barely walk and falls asleep on the stairs or falls from his bike twice. It is, possibly, his gentle humanism he uses to sort out every problem, that he channels. Maybe it is a metaphor. I couldn't tell. In general, the book is full of contradictions. North says he hates generalizations, but you can find a generalization on almost every page. "Well-conditioned women like to forgive when they are asked to" is a good example of the level of generalizations he allows himself.
He is in love with a 14 year old girl (who can blame him for that?) and without thinking twice he condescends to impregnating a shore widow whose husband is supposed to be infertile. His paramours are actually the best part of the narrative. He is very unscrupulous, and what he cannot fuck he is supposed to have fucked before. But obscenities should be kept out of the book.
Nobody talks as a living human being in the book. A conversation is always an exchange of information.
Sorry, I am sick of this book and my own review. It was ok.
June 27, 2012
Continuing our f2f discussion group's book/film season. I suggested this title as I had enjoyed the movie, Mr. North, which had been filmed in Rhode Island [John Huston actually passed away here during filming and was replaced by Robert Mitchum]. Anyway- I had never read the book nor anything by Wilder so I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this.
Talk about richness in language, allusion & insight into the human condition! Theo has a way of understanding human nature that allows him to help the people he meets during his summer sojourn in Newport in the 1920s overcome their problems be they physical, mental or social. It was reminiscent of Chocolat in that way.
Upon re-viewing the film I was disappointed in how simplistic and gimmicky it now seemed compared to the feast that was the book. But the visuals of Newport were still fascinating for a Rhode Islander.
Talk about richness in language, allusion & insight into the human condition! Theo has a way of understanding human nature that allows him to help the people he meets during his summer sojourn in Newport in the 1920s overcome their problems be they physical, mental or social. It was reminiscent of Chocolat in that way.
Upon re-viewing the film I was disappointed in how simplistic and gimmicky it now seemed compared to the feast that was the book. But the visuals of Newport were still fascinating for a Rhode Islander.
August 4, 2024
A strange, funny, bittersweet look at an unusual young man and the lives he changes. I enjoyed this book enough to read it twice, and also endorse the movie, a little known gem starring Anthony Edwards.
July 6, 2020
Probably my most favorite book. It has a touch of magic and something we can all relate to--the endless quest to figure out who we are and how we fit into the world around us.
June 12, 2012
I made it about 160 pages before breaking into a brisk skim.
Wilder wrote some artful, tightly structured works, and this is not one of them. The novel has absolutely no rising action or character development, other than the most unimaginative, tacked-on attempt at whaddayacallit kunstleroman. And when I say unimaginative and tacked-on, I mean it: on the very last page someone says to the main character, "have you ever thought about being a writer?" Apart from that the form and content of the novel rattle along for almost 400 pages, blithely indifferent to a 1970s audience who had seen Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, etc. write generation-defining novels about the same era.
Theophilus North seems unaware of any of this. It makes fun of rich people, sure, but it does so in a simplistic, harmless, childish way. The power brokers and tycoons of the gilded age are rendered as harmless, idiotic showpieces, their problems effortlessly overcome by the supernaturally clever Mr. North. (I should add, as other reviewers have, that his solutions aren't that inventive.)
I write all this as someone who works in Newport, RI, where the story is set, and who takes great interest in the town's history and characterization. The whole "9 cities of Newport" riff, early on in the novel, is really well done; yet Wilder seems unwilling to tell us or show us anything of substance about any of those 9 worlds. Stock characters, including particularly unimaginative and unrealistic portrayals of the lower social classes, parade around this novel like so many cardboard cutouts. Folks will tell you this book is well-written, but I find Wilder stuck in his narrator's voice: the book is basically written by a pretentious ass.
No doubt there are lots of characters and stories here that echo those of the real Newport (I looked in vain for Timmy the Woodhooker). But they aren't presented in a way that will make you care. Maybe the ideal readers for this novel were the 70 year old ladies of 1973. They didn't care much for that Fitzgerald and they don't want to think about the second world war or the 60s upheaval: just please tell them clever stories about helpless old rich people in Newport.
One of the weirdest things about living in Rhode Island is that you often feel--and almost never in a good way--that you are living in the 1950s. This novel is similarly set back: it's an artifact of the 1970s, yet it doesn't seem to belong to its time at all. And its stylized fixation on the past doesn't create much more than bogus antiquarianism, anyway. You can't go back to Brigadoon, and it's just a bunch of shiny happy technicolor people dancing around, anyway; most likely nothing like reality.
Wilder wrote some artful, tightly structured works, and this is not one of them. The novel has absolutely no rising action or character development, other than the most unimaginative, tacked-on attempt at whaddayacallit kunstleroman. And when I say unimaginative and tacked-on, I mean it: on the very last page someone says to the main character, "have you ever thought about being a writer?" Apart from that the form and content of the novel rattle along for almost 400 pages, blithely indifferent to a 1970s audience who had seen Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, etc. write generation-defining novels about the same era.
Theophilus North seems unaware of any of this. It makes fun of rich people, sure, but it does so in a simplistic, harmless, childish way. The power brokers and tycoons of the gilded age are rendered as harmless, idiotic showpieces, their problems effortlessly overcome by the supernaturally clever Mr. North. (I should add, as other reviewers have, that his solutions aren't that inventive.)
I write all this as someone who works in Newport, RI, where the story is set, and who takes great interest in the town's history and characterization. The whole "9 cities of Newport" riff, early on in the novel, is really well done; yet Wilder seems unwilling to tell us or show us anything of substance about any of those 9 worlds. Stock characters, including particularly unimaginative and unrealistic portrayals of the lower social classes, parade around this novel like so many cardboard cutouts. Folks will tell you this book is well-written, but I find Wilder stuck in his narrator's voice: the book is basically written by a pretentious ass.
No doubt there are lots of characters and stories here that echo those of the real Newport (I looked in vain for Timmy the Woodhooker). But they aren't presented in a way that will make you care. Maybe the ideal readers for this novel were the 70 year old ladies of 1973. They didn't care much for that Fitzgerald and they don't want to think about the second world war or the 60s upheaval: just please tell them clever stories about helpless old rich people in Newport.
One of the weirdest things about living in Rhode Island is that you often feel--and almost never in a good way--that you are living in the 1950s. This novel is similarly set back: it's an artifact of the 1970s, yet it doesn't seem to belong to its time at all. And its stylized fixation on the past doesn't create much more than bogus antiquarianism, anyway. You can't go back to Brigadoon, and it's just a bunch of shiny happy technicolor people dancing around, anyway; most likely nothing like reality.
October 26, 2013
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I think it is unfortunately titled because the title doesn't really give a clue to the nature of the book.
This is a somewhat autobiographical novel (with the emphasis on 'somewhat') of Thornton Wilder. Theophilus has left a tiresome position as a teacher and, at the age of 29, has the opportunity to spend some time to explore his freedom and his ambitions in the city of Newport in the year 1926.
In the end, Theophilus decides to make an income giving lessons and acting as a 'reader' for Newport residents. As he meets the residents, he encounters and helps to solve their problems, which are wide-ranging.
Along the way, Theophilus explores his vision of the Nine Cities of Newport:
The First City - the earliest settlers
The Second City - Newport in the 18th Century
The Third City - Newport as a prosperous and active seaport
The Fourth City - the Army and Navy in Newport
The Fifth City - the intellectual community
The Sixth City - the realm of the very rich
The Seventh City - the servants of Newport
The Eight City - camp-followers/parasites: journalists, etc.
The Ninth City - the American middle-class town
as well as Theophilus's own Nine Ambitions in his life:
The First - to be a saint
The Second - to be an anthropologist amongst primitive peoples
The Third - to be an archeologist
The Fourth - the detective
The Fifth - the actor, an amazing actor
The Sixth - the magician
The Seventh - the lover, not of Stately Swans, but of pert magpies
The Eighth - the rascal, a pícaro, living by his wits
The Ninth - to be a free man
It is a wonderful book - if you haven't read, don't hesitate. I will say, it probably won't be appreciated by the young. If, however, you've matured into at least middle-age, you'll find it enormously enjoyable and thought-provoking.
I enjoy this book so much, I read it at least once a year.
Note: they did make the book into a movie, Mr. North - which I found to be a poor and pale imitation of the book.
This is a somewhat autobiographical novel (with the emphasis on 'somewhat') of Thornton Wilder. Theophilus has left a tiresome position as a teacher and, at the age of 29, has the opportunity to spend some time to explore his freedom and his ambitions in the city of Newport in the year 1926.
In the end, Theophilus decides to make an income giving lessons and acting as a 'reader' for Newport residents. As he meets the residents, he encounters and helps to solve their problems, which are wide-ranging.
Along the way, Theophilus explores his vision of the Nine Cities of Newport:
The First City - the earliest settlers
The Second City - Newport in the 18th Century
The Third City - Newport as a prosperous and active seaport
The Fourth City - the Army and Navy in Newport
The Fifth City - the intellectual community
The Sixth City - the realm of the very rich
The Seventh City - the servants of Newport
The Eight City - camp-followers/parasites: journalists, etc.
The Ninth City - the American middle-class town
as well as Theophilus's own Nine Ambitions in his life:
The First - to be a saint
The Second - to be an anthropologist amongst primitive peoples
The Third - to be an archeologist
The Fourth - the detective
The Fifth - the actor, an amazing actor
The Sixth - the magician
The Seventh - the lover, not of Stately Swans, but of pert magpies
The Eighth - the rascal, a pícaro, living by his wits
The Ninth - to be a free man
It is a wonderful book - if you haven't read, don't hesitate. I will say, it probably won't be appreciated by the young. If, however, you've matured into at least middle-age, you'll find it enormously enjoyable and thought-provoking.
I enjoy this book so much, I read it at least once a year.
Note: they did make the book into a movie, Mr. North - which I found to be a poor and pale imitation of the book.
January 17, 2015
In college, two of my favorite professors offered a special course on Thornton Wilder, which introduced me to his now mostly-forgotten novels. "Theophilus North" was a favorite, and I'm enjoying re-reading it now...
It recounts the adventures of a Yale graduate, Theophilus North (a semi-autobiographical protagonist), in Newport, Rhode Island, 1926.
Erudite, witty, and wise.
It recounts the adventures of a Yale graduate, Theophilus North (a semi-autobiographical protagonist), in Newport, Rhode Island, 1926.
Erudite, witty, and wise.
August 2, 2010
One of my favorite books of all time. It's actually really hard to find an original copy of it--I found mine on eBay and I think I still have my mom's copy of it.
March 4, 2020
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this novel. It was Thornton Wilder's last novel and it was a good place to start. It is a little hard to believe that this book was written in 1973 as it is set during and after the First World War and it avoids the problem of anachronisms very well. One of the reasons that I like the book is because it is set in Newport,Rhode Island and I live in the area. It is obvious that the author knows the area and his geography is flawless. However, the book is really about Theophilus North and his adventures in Newport, as much as about the different worlds in Newport itself, over a short period time as a Tutor and fixer of many problems; social, psychiatric and situational when they come into his orbit and he sees that he can do something about them. It might not occur to you that Theophilus means "knower of God" but it certainly seems that "Teddy" is motivated by uncommon good sense and not always of the rigidly religious or socially constrained type. Fortunately, the stories and dialogue are not like 19th-century writing and is not particularly tedious. I am motivated enough to seek out the 1988 movie "Mr. North" that is based upon this book and also to keep Mr Wilder on my reading list.
October 13, 2021
Thornton Wilder was a true man of letters who led a life that any author would be envious of. How fitting is it that he cranked out Theophilus North at the age of 76, just a couple years before dying, as a parting gift to the literary world. This is a backward glance at the 1920’s which reads as if it were written by a young man living in the time period.
It’s also a wonderful tribute to his twin brother whose death shortly after being born haunted him throughout his life; the book is in part a fantasy of the life Theophilus would have led, part autobiographical, and part things Thornton himself wishes he could have done while living in Newport, Rhode Island. His main character spends time tutoring, giving tennis lessons, and hobnobbing among the rich, who all seem to have problems he can help with in his quiet way.
The book brings back this bygone time, but it’s not sentimental in the slightest, and is a better read than most of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s works about the wealthy, even though it was written fifty years later. Wilder was certainly more grounded because of his upbringing, and not ‘one of them’. As with all of his books, it is intelligent and restrained, but deceptively subversive. The rich are parodied, and there are several instances of recreational sex; while those are without graphic detail, I almost fell off my chair in the chapter called ‘Alice’ when a married woman meets Theophilus in a bar and later asks him to “give her a baby”, since her husband cannot.
There is dignity, wit, culture, and grace here, all while acknowledging man’s shortcomings, his weaknesses and occasional madness. It’s moral without being prudish. It has common sense and humanity, all while asking the question, as he put it in a letter to a friend, “What does a man do with his despair, his rage, his frustration?”
Quotes:
On doctors:
“Many great surgeons have to set up a kind of wall between themselves and the patients. To shield their hearts. See if you can change that. Put your face near to the patients when you talk to them. Pat them lightly on the elbow or the shoulder and smile. You’re going down into the valley of death together, see what I mean?”
On the military:
“I returned his gaze with that impassive expression I had learned to adopt in the Army where irrationality knows no bounds and where we underlings have no choice but to make a pretense of unfathomable stupidity.”
And this one; I love how the chivalry of early air combat is followed in a simple way by the hell of war:
“Air combat was new; its rules and practice were improvised daily. The acquisition of technical accomplishment above the earth filled them with a particular kind of pride and elation. There were no gray-haired officers above them. They were pioneers and frontiersman. Their relations with their fellow-fliers and even with their enemies partook of a high camaraderie. Unrebuked, they invented a code of chivalry with the German airmen. None would have stooped to attack a disabled enemy plane trying to return to its home base. Both sides recognized enemies with whom they had had encounters earlier, signaled to them in laughing challenge.
The lived ‘Homerically’; that was what the Iliad was largely about – young, brilliant, threatened lives. (Goethe said, ‘The Iliad teaches us that it is our task here on earth to enact hell daily.’) Many survivors were broken by it and their later lives were a misery to themselves and to others. (‘We didn’t have the good fortune to die,’ as one of them said to me.) Others continued to live long and stoic lives. In some cases, if one looked closely, it was evident that a ‘spring had broken down’ in them, a source of courage and gaiety had been depleted, had been spent.”
On flirting; I loved moments like these spread throughout the book:
“Then under the tablecloth she pinched me in what I suppose is called the thigh.”
“I admired her enormously and wished I were many miles away. I was rattled; I floundered; I talked too much and too little.”
“So there we sat, face to face, over that table, looking into each other’s eyes. I can go out of my mind about a pair of fine eyes. Mrs. Willis’s were unusual in several ways. Firstly there was a slight ‘cast’ – so mistakenly called a ‘flaw’ – in her right eye; in the second place you couldn’t tell what color they were; thirdly, they were deep and calm and amused. When I go swimming in a pair of eyes I am not fully master of what I may say.”
It’s also a wonderful tribute to his twin brother whose death shortly after being born haunted him throughout his life; the book is in part a fantasy of the life Theophilus would have led, part autobiographical, and part things Thornton himself wishes he could have done while living in Newport, Rhode Island. His main character spends time tutoring, giving tennis lessons, and hobnobbing among the rich, who all seem to have problems he can help with in his quiet way.
The book brings back this bygone time, but it’s not sentimental in the slightest, and is a better read than most of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s works about the wealthy, even though it was written fifty years later. Wilder was certainly more grounded because of his upbringing, and not ‘one of them’. As with all of his books, it is intelligent and restrained, but deceptively subversive. The rich are parodied, and there are several instances of recreational sex; while those are without graphic detail, I almost fell off my chair in the chapter called ‘Alice’ when a married woman meets Theophilus in a bar and later asks him to “give her a baby”, since her husband cannot.
There is dignity, wit, culture, and grace here, all while acknowledging man’s shortcomings, his weaknesses and occasional madness. It’s moral without being prudish. It has common sense and humanity, all while asking the question, as he put it in a letter to a friend, “What does a man do with his despair, his rage, his frustration?”
Quotes:
On doctors:
“Many great surgeons have to set up a kind of wall between themselves and the patients. To shield their hearts. See if you can change that. Put your face near to the patients when you talk to them. Pat them lightly on the elbow or the shoulder and smile. You’re going down into the valley of death together, see what I mean?”
On the military:
“I returned his gaze with that impassive expression I had learned to adopt in the Army where irrationality knows no bounds and where we underlings have no choice but to make a pretense of unfathomable stupidity.”
And this one; I love how the chivalry of early air combat is followed in a simple way by the hell of war:
“Air combat was new; its rules and practice were improvised daily. The acquisition of technical accomplishment above the earth filled them with a particular kind of pride and elation. There were no gray-haired officers above them. They were pioneers and frontiersman. Their relations with their fellow-fliers and even with their enemies partook of a high camaraderie. Unrebuked, they invented a code of chivalry with the German airmen. None would have stooped to attack a disabled enemy plane trying to return to its home base. Both sides recognized enemies with whom they had had encounters earlier, signaled to them in laughing challenge.
The lived ‘Homerically’; that was what the Iliad was largely about – young, brilliant, threatened lives. (Goethe said, ‘The Iliad teaches us that it is our task here on earth to enact hell daily.’) Many survivors were broken by it and their later lives were a misery to themselves and to others. (‘We didn’t have the good fortune to die,’ as one of them said to me.) Others continued to live long and stoic lives. In some cases, if one looked closely, it was evident that a ‘spring had broken down’ in them, a source of courage and gaiety had been depleted, had been spent.”
On flirting; I loved moments like these spread throughout the book:
“Then under the tablecloth she pinched me in what I suppose is called the thigh.”
“I admired her enormously and wished I were many miles away. I was rattled; I floundered; I talked too much and too little.”
“So there we sat, face to face, over that table, looking into each other’s eyes. I can go out of my mind about a pair of fine eyes. Mrs. Willis’s were unusual in several ways. Firstly there was a slight ‘cast’ – so mistakenly called a ‘flaw’ – in her right eye; in the second place you couldn’t tell what color they were; thirdly, they were deep and calm and amused. When I go swimming in a pair of eyes I am not fully master of what I may say.”
August 17, 2020
At first, I wanted to say that it has a slow start and it gets more interesting as the book progresses.
Now I want to say that it is one of the most amazing books I've read! :)
I have to say that I was a little skeptical at first when I saw the book is about American life. To my disgrace, I've always associated a certain vanity with something American as opposed to something European. I'm glad that I was wrong.
The chapters are a bit long for my taste. Having the daily habit of reading a chapter or two before sleep, and trying to avoid stopping in the middle of a chapter, it takes me more time a day, than other books.
I think the book is an interesting analysis of human nature. Both in the stories it tells and also in the characters who at times take a more active part in the story and times a less active part.
Mr. North leaves a constant distancing gap between himself and his clients, and with each, he breaks that gap in a different manner to help them. Helping in some way outside of his initial job description.
He stays aloof at all times, a sort of condescension towards the elite of New-Port, who treat him with the same condescension, while still noting a certain unique quality in him.
One of the chapters I've read was about a pregnant woman, with too much time on her hands and a learned/acquired dislike of classics.
There was a lot I could relate-to in that story, and a lot of things I notice around me. The ruining of classic masterpieces by formal education, at least in Russia and Israel. The sort of void being filed after getting, truly, to know one of those classic tales. The certain discomfort of speaking about something you don't understand and a silence ensued after a remark made out of ignorance. The silence was a behavior which Mr. North exhibited towards that lady. As an educational tool, I presume. I wouldn't want to experience such a silence.
Now I want to say that it is one of the most amazing books I've read! :)
I have to say that I was a little skeptical at first when I saw the book is about American life. To my disgrace, I've always associated a certain vanity with something American as opposed to something European. I'm glad that I was wrong.
The chapters are a bit long for my taste. Having the daily habit of reading a chapter or two before sleep, and trying to avoid stopping in the middle of a chapter, it takes me more time a day, than other books.
I think the book is an interesting analysis of human nature. Both in the stories it tells and also in the characters who at times take a more active part in the story and times a less active part.
Mr. North leaves a constant distancing gap between himself and his clients, and with each, he breaks that gap in a different manner to help them. Helping in some way outside of his initial job description.
He stays aloof at all times, a sort of condescension towards the elite of New-Port, who treat him with the same condescension, while still noting a certain unique quality in him.
One of the chapters I've read was about a pregnant woman, with too much time on her hands and a learned/acquired dislike of classics.
There was a lot I could relate-to in that story, and a lot of things I notice around me. The ruining of classic masterpieces by formal education, at least in Russia and Israel. The sort of void being filed after getting, truly, to know one of those classic tales. The certain discomfort of speaking about something you don't understand and a silence ensued after a remark made out of ignorance. The silence was a behavior which Mr. North exhibited towards that lady. As an educational tool, I presume. I wouldn't want to experience such a silence.
October 8, 2009
If you ever saw movie "Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain" (or just "Amelie") you pretty much have the idea what's "Theophilus North" is about (and if you don't - run to your local DVD store and get it, you will be thanking me).
It's a story about Yale graduate who drops his teaching job, moves to Newport and starts to secretly interfere in lives of its inhabitants, fixing what's is wrong with them. He is like a good angel for different people who are stuck with some problem in their life. He does that in very tricky manner so the person who got his help doesn't really know about that or at least is not intimidated by being helped from a stranger.
Of course he is doing all that in accordance with HIS views of how these lives should look like so there is no room for manicheism in this book. What's good is good, what's evil is evil.
There are 13.5 different stories in the book , they are all interconnected by Theophilus North of course and 5-6 other characters but they are separate from each other , devoted to a certain "case" (nothing criminal in here) of dr. North. (Decameron like)
Obvious flow of this book is how Theophilus North is accepted by other characters. Every story filled with situations when he enters the room or meets someone and he is immideatelly adored, liked and trusted. People are giving him away all their secrets after several sentences of conversation. Basically that's the carcass of this book, main characterstic of its protagonist and although one can assume smth like "that's mr.North imagination (he is narrator and book is presented as his "diary"), that's his dream what he could be like" or "he is not ordinary person he is a good angel and people are treating him as an angel with unconsious love", I still felt uncomfortable when it happened over and over again.
It's a story about Yale graduate who drops his teaching job, moves to Newport and starts to secretly interfere in lives of its inhabitants, fixing what's is wrong with them. He is like a good angel for different people who are stuck with some problem in their life. He does that in very tricky manner so the person who got his help doesn't really know about that or at least is not intimidated by being helped from a stranger.
Of course he is doing all that in accordance with HIS views of how these lives should look like so there is no room for manicheism in this book. What's good is good, what's evil is evil.
There are 13.5 different stories in the book , they are all interconnected by Theophilus North of course and 5-6 other characters but they are separate from each other , devoted to a certain "case" (nothing criminal in here) of dr. North. (Decameron like)
Obvious flow of this book is how Theophilus North is accepted by other characters. Every story filled with situations when he enters the room or meets someone and he is immideatelly adored, liked and trusted. People are giving him away all their secrets after several sentences of conversation. Basically that's the carcass of this book, main characterstic of its protagonist and although one can assume smth like "that's mr.North imagination (he is narrator and book is presented as his "diary"), that's his dream what he could be like" or "he is not ordinary person he is a good angel and people are treating him as an angel with unconsious love", I still felt uncomfortable when it happened over and over again.
July 21, 2023
This is the story of Theophilus North, a young man who has left his teaching position at the age of twenty nine in order to pursue the nine ambitions he had set out for himself. Those ambitions are explained in the first chapter of the book as: To become a saint, to become an anthropologist, to become an archeologist, to become a detective, to become an actor, to become a magician, to become a lover, to become a rascal and to be a free man. The book then follows him as he ends up in Newport were he begins his adventure. Wilder presents him as extraordinarily well learned in many academic fields including knowing multiple languages and being very knowledgeable in literature. In Newport he sets up shop as a tutor and a reader to those that need assistance in reading in order to earn a living. Each chapter has him meeting different people in his work and while doing so solving a problem they have while, at the same time, completing one of his nine ambitions. This was an excellent book but I found most of the problems he was solving were a little too contrived and Theophilus, himself, was a little bit too all-knowing. I've seen that this book has been said to be slightly autobiographical but I would guess that it more who Wilder would have liked to have been and not necessarily who he was.
November 2, 2020
Милый Теофил,
не знаю, какая часть твоей биографии является отображением биографии твоего создателя, но любовь к ближнему, которую Торнтон Уайлдер пронес сквозь почти все свое творчество ("Мартовские Иды" не в счет), разлилась по Ньюпорту без особых усилий для этого. Тедди, ты словно волшебник, который берет под руку потерявшегося в темноте, и ведет его на свет. Изящность твоих решений временами граничит с прикосновением провидения — и не разберешь...
Ты всегда действуешь смело, но не могу сказать, что ты поступаешь дурно, или во вред кому-либо — просто даешь некий внешний толчок этой инертной системе человеческих жизней... Что ж, остается надеяться, что данный исход — именно то, чего не хватало взятым тобой под руку.
Легкомыслие? — нет, но легкость свойственна тебе. Ты очень любишь жизнь — я не знаю никого, кто любил бы ее сильнее, разумнее и отчаяннее. Сила чувств есть у многих, но разум позволяет менять ход событий на благоприятный, а отчаяние — любить радости жизни наравне с ее горестями и неудачами, иначе говоря — принять её без условностей.
И твои истории облегчают тягость моего существования.
За это я и люблю тебя. Спасибо тебе, что ты есть.
Даже если ты всего лишь книжный персонаж.
Искренне твоя,
Н.
не знаю, какая часть твоей биографии является отображением биографии твоего создателя, но любовь к ближнему, которую Торнтон Уайлдер пронес сквозь почти все свое творчество ("Мартовские Иды" не в счет), разлилась по Ньюпорту без особых усилий для этого. Тедди, ты словно волшебник, который берет под руку потерявшегося в темноте, и ведет его на свет. Изящность твоих решений временами граничит с прикосновением провидения — и не разберешь...
Ты всегда действуешь смело, но не могу сказать, что ты поступаешь дурно, или во вред кому-либо — просто даешь некий внешний толчок этой инертной системе человеческих жизней... Что ж, остается надеяться, что данный исход — именно то, чего не хватало взятым тобой под руку.
Легкомыслие? — нет, но легкость свойственна тебе. Ты очень любишь жизнь — я не знаю никого, кто любил бы ее сильнее, разумнее и отчаяннее. Сила чувств есть у многих, но разум позволяет менять ход событий на благоприятный, а отчаяние — любить радости жизни наравне с ее горестями и неудачами, иначе говоря — принять её без условностей.
И твои истории облегчают тягость моего существования.
За это я и люблю тебя. Спасибо тебе, что ты есть.
Даже если ты всего лишь книжный персонаж.
Искренне твоя,
Н.
April 21, 2023
Every bit as wonderful 20 years later. Theophilus North is one of my most favorite characters from any book - I'd love to have him for dinner and a long chat. This is a wonderful episodic novel by one of our grandest masters.
What can I say about my friend Theophilus? He's helpful. He's smart as a whip. He's kind (wouldn't be my friend if he weren't kind). He's reasonable - take him any problem and he'll soon find the best solution. In all of literature (or what I've read thus far) he's my best friend.
Have there been other friends over the years? Of course: Tom and Huck - running around playing pirates on Jackson Island, or delivering papers with Henry and Ribsy. I was with Ralph on the island, mourning our friends Simon and Piggy. My friend Stuart Little taught me it doesn't matter how small you are in stature - always dare to be as big as your dreams. In adulthood it's Theophilus I gravitate to. A truly admirable character.
What can I say about my friend Theophilus? He's helpful. He's smart as a whip. He's kind (wouldn't be my friend if he weren't kind). He's reasonable - take him any problem and he'll soon find the best solution. In all of literature (or what I've read thus far) he's my best friend.
Have there been other friends over the years? Of course: Tom and Huck - running around playing pirates on Jackson Island, or delivering papers with Henry and Ribsy. I was with Ralph on the island, mourning our friends Simon and Piggy. My friend Stuart Little taught me it doesn't matter how small you are in stature - always dare to be as big as your dreams. In adulthood it's Theophilus I gravitate to. A truly admirable character.
May 20, 2012
I think that growing up in the '80s has predisposed me to expecting that any comedy about a young man alternately drifting about and making his way in the world will be full of many wacky misunderstandings, possibly involving donkeys snorting cocaine, or John Cusack. Or, maybe it's my enjoyment of the Jeeves stories that led me to hope that this book would be an American equivalent of a '20s satire of aristocracy.
I'm all for light and breezy comedies; it's refreshing to read a series of amusing stories that lack any kind of biting cynicism. I think the main problem I had with this book was that at the beginning, the title character possesses an endearing joie de vivre, and entertains the reader with theories of society that promise a more complex story line, but it turns out that these are just introductory fancies. Theophilus North occasionally turns a good phrase, but his attitude also comes off as smug and priggish at points, which overshadows his affability.
I'm all for light and breezy comedies; it's refreshing to read a series of amusing stories that lack any kind of biting cynicism. I think the main problem I had with this book was that at the beginning, the title character possesses an endearing joie de vivre, and entertains the reader with theories of society that promise a more complex story line, but it turns out that these are just introductory fancies. Theophilus North occasionally turns a good phrase, but his attitude also comes off as smug and priggish at points, which overshadows his affability.
August 31, 2011
Wow, this is a tough one to review. It's a story of a twentysomething named Theophilus North. He spends his summer in Newport and finds himself getting involved in the life of its inhabitants. In a way it feels more like a series of vignettes than a traditional novel. Each chapter deals with Theophilus and a new cast of characters. I really enjoyed most chapters; some were dull; some were confusing from start to finish. It was definitely an interesting book. It has made me curious to read more Thornton Wilder, that's for sure. It dragged here and there and did feel a bit long, but overall I enjoyed it. I'm glad I read it.
May 11, 2024
Примерно на трети я сообразила что "сдается мне, это была комедия" 😁 ну не совсем комедия, конечно, но поначалу я слишком серьезно отнеслась к этой книге.
Она не так чтоб прям лёгенькая промышленность, но несколько легкомысленная и непринуждённая, как мелодия из Дживса и Вустера (не смотрела и не читала, в очередь, сукины дети!)
Повествование ведётся от лица главного героя, молодого человека, зарабатывающего себе на жизнь уроками тенниса и чтением вслух разным людям, о пересечениях с которыми, собственно, книга.
Он отнюдь не святоша, может приврать, не лишён доли авантюризма, манипулятивности и даже мошенничества, но при этом есть в нем какой-то стержень, свои принципы, доброта и искреннее желание помочь, вызывающие симпатию.
Я очень люблю книги о книгах, и тут эта линия явно прослеживается - как всегда, после прочтения одной книги у меня в списке почитать образуется пять 🙈😁
Там даже Остен обсуждают 😁
Но главное - это такое общее ощущение неспешности (при этом отнюдь не праздной), доброты и решаемости всех проблем при помощи фантазии, смекалки и умения общаться с людьми.
Мне понравилось.
И немножко цитат.
"— Ну, а если бы вы потеряли зрение, чего бы тогда вам больше всего не хватало?
Он задумался:
— Что не вижу лиц.
— А не чтения?
— Для чтения есть заменители, а человеческих лиц ничто не заменит."
"Не Руссо ли заметил, что главная задача раннего образования — развить в ребенке способность удивляться?"
"Надежда — продукт воображения. Отчаяние — тоже. Отчаянию слишком живо рисуются возможные беды; надежда — это энергия, и она побуждает ум испробовать все способы борьбы с ними."
"Кончив университет, я поехал на год в Рим изучать археологию. Профессор повез нас на несколько дней за город, чтобы научить нас копать. Копали мы, копали. Через некоторое время напали на дорогу — большая была дорога, тысячи две лет назад… Колдобины, дорожные вехи, молельни. Миллион людей, наверно, по ней прошел… смеясь… тревожась… строя планы… горюя. С тех пор я стал другим человеком. Меня это освободило от гнета больших чисел, больших расстояний и больших философских проблем, которых мне не постичь. Я пашу свой клочок земли и не стараюсь поспеть всюду разом."
Она не так чтоб прям лёгенькая промышленность, но несколько легкомысленная и непринуждённая, как мелодия из Дживса и Вустера (не смотрела и не читала, в очередь, сукины дети!)
Повествование ведётся от лица главного героя, молодого человека, зарабатывающего себе на жизнь уроками тенниса и чтением вслух разным людям, о пересечениях с которыми, собственно, книга.
Он отнюдь не святоша, может приврать, не лишён доли авантюризма, манипулятивности и даже мошенничества, но при этом есть в нем какой-то стержень, свои принципы, доброта и искреннее желание помочь, вызывающие симпатию.
Я очень люблю книги о книгах, и тут эта линия явно прослеживается - как всегда, после прочтения одной книги у меня в списке почитать образуется пять 🙈😁
Там даже Остен обсуждают 😁
Но главное - это такое общее ощущение неспешности (при этом отнюдь не праздной), доброты и решаемости всех проблем при помощи фантазии, смекалки и умения общаться с людьми.
Мне понравилось.
И немножко цитат.
"— Ну, а если бы вы потеряли зрение, чего бы тогда вам больше всего не хватало?
Он задумался:
— Что не вижу лиц.
— А не чтения?
— Для чтения есть заменители, а человеческих лиц ничто не заменит."
"Не Руссо ли заметил, что главная задача раннего образования — развить в ребенке способность удивляться?"
"Надежда — продукт воображения. Отчаяние — тоже. Отчаянию слишком живо рисуются возможные беды; надежда — это энергия, и она побуждает ум испробовать все способы борьбы с ними."
"Кончив университет, я поехал на год в Рим изучать археологию. Профессор повез нас на несколько дней за город, чтобы научить нас копать. Копали мы, копали. Через некоторое время напали на дорогу — большая была дорога, тысячи две лет назад… Колдобины, дорожные вехи, молельни. Миллион людей, наверно, по ней прошел… смеясь… тревожась… строя планы… горюя. С тех пор я стал другим человеком. Меня это освободило от гнета больших чисел, больших расстояний и больших философских проблем, которых мне не постичь. Я пашу свой клочок земли и не стараюсь поспеть всюду разом."
June 18, 2025
This book was recommended to me by Professor Richard Wilson of UVA in regards to a recent summer school course I completed in architectural history of Newport, RI and its surroundings to give context of place. It was an excellent recommendation.
This was Thornton Wilder's last novel, completed within two years of his death. It was widely applauded when it was released, and it deserves a renaissance. Set in the late spring and summer of 1926 in Newport, RI, Wilder uses his main character of Theophilus North as a tour guide that walks the reader through a series of adventures, via a number of sleuths through post-World War I society. He exposes us to both the upper-class angst of the time, along with the rise of the middle-class of the post-Gilded Age.
The novel is both clever and uplifting, and at the same time giving us a multitude of references to art, music, literature and foreign language. The book is a reflection of one the last great storytellers of the 2oth Century, and Wilder goes out with a bang. This is a timeless novel that should not be missed. It's especially good summer reading.
This was Thornton Wilder's last novel, completed within two years of his death. It was widely applauded when it was released, and it deserves a renaissance. Set in the late spring and summer of 1926 in Newport, RI, Wilder uses his main character of Theophilus North as a tour guide that walks the reader through a series of adventures, via a number of sleuths through post-World War I society. He exposes us to both the upper-class angst of the time, along with the rise of the middle-class of the post-Gilded Age.
The novel is both clever and uplifting, and at the same time giving us a multitude of references to art, music, literature and foreign language. The book is a reflection of one the last great storytellers of the 2oth Century, and Wilder goes out with a bang. This is a timeless novel that should not be missed. It's especially good summer reading.
May 31, 2019
Thornton Wilder’s final semi-autobiographical novel, Theophilus North was a surprising read, full of self-effacing wisdoms drawn from Wilder’s observations and the classics. Wilder covers the spectrum of Newport life in the 1920s, drawing portraits of sad people dressed up in posh togs, full of vanities and social pressures that seem meaningless in the hundred years that have passed. This leads one to ask, will our own compulsions and stresses seem equally peculiar to those who come? His treatment of women is varied—rich women trapped and hating parental pressure, causing migraines so severe as to be considered a tumor, or so controlling as to have emasculated a ‘fine war hero’. But he also has working class women who are more than props, Journalists who can change public opinion, a retired maid turned boarding-house landlady with a large circle of influence, and more.
A number of literary allusions must be looked up if one is to enjoy this multi-lingual journey. Wilder also charms us by making famous writers accessible—here lived Henry James, here Bishop Berkeley. His character is a Yale man, son of a Yale alumnus, and one of his clients is a Harvard man. Learning and wealth are taken for granted. “In an office! No!” he cries, turning down a well-paying job. Later he declines a position with a neurospecialist to be his assistant. Talk about white male privilege!
He also asks us to believe there was once a time when a modest living could be made reading to children and seniors, giving lessons in languages and tennis! There is gold to be mined in these stories, each drawn with suspense and colored with dialog, each with some trouble to be solved intelligently and cleverly, even without the knowledge of the recipient of this benevolence. The plots are simple, a plan to be made, allies gathered and set in motion. The plans invariably work, no surprises there. It is the relationships among the characters that intertwine.
SPOILER HERE: The gold, then, is little asides and insights into the human condition. For me, however, the grand reveal was a letdown. Scandalous in the 20s, a one night stand is now ho-hum commonplace. With old fashioned chivalry, the association is not remarked upon—the lady has been engaged to another almost from page one. In these episodes, North plays cupid, endearing himself to the reader, but gives in to vanity in an episode where saving a young woman from entering society spares her from migraines. Taking this to extremes, the young North becomes a reluctant shaman, a saint, as was his ambition. For one steeped in literature and science this seems crass. “There are mysteries in nature,” his protegee reminds us. Alas, youth are merely props to whom young North can pontificate. Is that their purpose in the constellations that Wilder recommends we build around us, constellations of friends our own age, and with those older and younger.
North then moves back to a previous time to pick up the story of Bodo and Persis, leaving the revering crowds unresolved, to ride away in a new jalopy, much as he had arrived, returning to the ‘noble cowboy’ trope. But he has things to say about the first war, about money and marrying money, about the service, and combat veterans. His volume charms, each tale unfolds happily in the hands of a competent story teller, drawing to no climax but a resolution of loose ends, with a final flashback to explain, “why Newport?” We understand how a single night at the end of the first war, a single remark, “I shall have a shop in Newport. It will be a great success,” can lead a fellow to hoping. But when the search is done he has friends, many friends, all grateful for his efforts on their behalf, and a trove of stories, varied life experience and the plan for a career.
A number of literary allusions must be looked up if one is to enjoy this multi-lingual journey. Wilder also charms us by making famous writers accessible—here lived Henry James, here Bishop Berkeley. His character is a Yale man, son of a Yale alumnus, and one of his clients is a Harvard man. Learning and wealth are taken for granted. “In an office! No!” he cries, turning down a well-paying job. Later he declines a position with a neurospecialist to be his assistant. Talk about white male privilege!
He also asks us to believe there was once a time when a modest living could be made reading to children and seniors, giving lessons in languages and tennis! There is gold to be mined in these stories, each drawn with suspense and colored with dialog, each with some trouble to be solved intelligently and cleverly, even without the knowledge of the recipient of this benevolence. The plots are simple, a plan to be made, allies gathered and set in motion. The plans invariably work, no surprises there. It is the relationships among the characters that intertwine.
SPOILER HERE: The gold, then, is little asides and insights into the human condition. For me, however, the grand reveal was a letdown. Scandalous in the 20s, a one night stand is now ho-hum commonplace. With old fashioned chivalry, the association is not remarked upon—the lady has been engaged to another almost from page one. In these episodes, North plays cupid, endearing himself to the reader, but gives in to vanity in an episode where saving a young woman from entering society spares her from migraines. Taking this to extremes, the young North becomes a reluctant shaman, a saint, as was his ambition. For one steeped in literature and science this seems crass. “There are mysteries in nature,” his protegee reminds us. Alas, youth are merely props to whom young North can pontificate. Is that their purpose in the constellations that Wilder recommends we build around us, constellations of friends our own age, and with those older and younger.
North then moves back to a previous time to pick up the story of Bodo and Persis, leaving the revering crowds unresolved, to ride away in a new jalopy, much as he had arrived, returning to the ‘noble cowboy’ trope. But he has things to say about the first war, about money and marrying money, about the service, and combat veterans. His volume charms, each tale unfolds happily in the hands of a competent story teller, drawing to no climax but a resolution of loose ends, with a final flashback to explain, “why Newport?” We understand how a single night at the end of the first war, a single remark, “I shall have a shop in Newport. It will be a great success,” can lead a fellow to hoping. But when the search is done he has friends, many friends, all grateful for his efforts on their behalf, and a trove of stories, varied life experience and the plan for a career.
September 8, 2021
[4 April 2020; four stars]
Theophilus North structures his first-person account around a theory of the nine cities of Newport, which is a more elaborate—and more thought-through—version of a construct that I myself had devised about the fascinating town, which quadruples in population from summer to winter and is laid out such that some of the wealthiest people in the country live four blocks from some of the poorest in the community. It’s funny, in a way, to describe Theophilus North as being structured at all, only because it’s so deftly done, and with such a light touch, that it can seem to have almost no form at all. Wilder almost intentionally avoids incident, even as the book is nothing but a series of one incident after another—but only to those involved; in the context of a more traditional narrative, these would register as mere trifles, hardly worthy of comment.
Theophilus, for his part, seems to recognize that outside of a select group of people, no one will be able to know of his exploits. He would have it no other way—self-denying (though not self-righteous), he takes no credit or money for his machinations; his reward is that he gets to disclose his exploits to us, while maintaining prized confidentiality in his own world. Because of the episodic nature, we get a glimpse into the lives of a group of people, and are then just as quickly whisked away to the next group; it is a testament to Wilder’s ability to quickly and concisely build each of these sub-worlds—each of them its own subset of one of the nine cities of Newport— from scratch that he can get us not only to care about and be invested in the outcome, but even sometimes to wish we got to spend more time with a certain supporting cast when the time came to move on.
He plays with this expectation, too, of the anticipated ending; one chapter (“Alice”) needs to be built by design to be short-lived, whereas “‘The Deer Park’” is graciously extended past well beyond what might seem to be its apparent ending point. And then, in a masterful, perfectly placed touch, Wilder cuts across the established pace and chronology of the book, doubling back on himself and not only giving me more time with some of the exact people with whom I wanted it, but also more context—in a sequence of stunning reveals—for their relationships with Theophilus as well. Theophilus, at the end of the book, is left with the satisfaction of a whole sequence of odd jobs well done, but one can sense the implicit sadness tied to the evanescence of the events detailed; indeed, he accelerates to the ending to avoid dwelling on it himself. And I, for my part, already miss him, and the Newport milieu(s) in which he was a player, deeply. (Imagine my further devastation for what might have been when I read in the very thorough afterword—which includes historical information on and photos of Newport, letters of Wilder’s, an interview with him, and a friend’s remembrance read at his funeral—that “[a]t his death, Thronton Wilder was working on Theophilus North—Zen Detective, with plans for still more Theophilus sequels;” if any book has ever, by nature of its form, lent itself to a string of continuations that could—and should—have gone on at length, it’s this one.)
Theophilus North structures his first-person account around a theory of the nine cities of Newport, which is a more elaborate—and more thought-through—version of a construct that I myself had devised about the fascinating town, which quadruples in population from summer to winter and is laid out such that some of the wealthiest people in the country live four blocks from some of the poorest in the community. It’s funny, in a way, to describe Theophilus North as being structured at all, only because it’s so deftly done, and with such a light touch, that it can seem to have almost no form at all. Wilder almost intentionally avoids incident, even as the book is nothing but a series of one incident after another—but only to those involved; in the context of a more traditional narrative, these would register as mere trifles, hardly worthy of comment.
Theophilus, for his part, seems to recognize that outside of a select group of people, no one will be able to know of his exploits. He would have it no other way—self-denying (though not self-righteous), he takes no credit or money for his machinations; his reward is that he gets to disclose his exploits to us, while maintaining prized confidentiality in his own world. Because of the episodic nature, we get a glimpse into the lives of a group of people, and are then just as quickly whisked away to the next group; it is a testament to Wilder’s ability to quickly and concisely build each of these sub-worlds—each of them its own subset of one of the nine cities of Newport— from scratch that he can get us not only to care about and be invested in the outcome, but even sometimes to wish we got to spend more time with a certain supporting cast when the time came to move on.
He plays with this expectation, too, of the anticipated ending; one chapter (“Alice”) needs to be built by design to be short-lived, whereas “‘The Deer Park’” is graciously extended past well beyond what might seem to be its apparent ending point. And then, in a masterful, perfectly placed touch, Wilder cuts across the established pace and chronology of the book, doubling back on himself and not only giving me more time with some of the exact people with whom I wanted it, but also more context—in a sequence of stunning reveals—for their relationships with Theophilus as well. Theophilus, at the end of the book, is left with the satisfaction of a whole sequence of odd jobs well done, but one can sense the implicit sadness tied to the evanescence of the events detailed; indeed, he accelerates to the ending to avoid dwelling on it himself. And I, for my part, already miss him, and the Newport milieu(s) in which he was a player, deeply. (Imagine my further devastation for what might have been when I read in the very thorough afterword—which includes historical information on and photos of Newport, letters of Wilder’s, an interview with him, and a friend’s remembrance read at his funeral—that “[a]t his death, Thronton Wilder was working on Theophilus North—Zen Detective, with plans for still more Theophilus sequels;” if any book has ever, by nature of its form, lent itself to a string of continuations that could—and should—have gone on at length, it’s this one.)
October 3, 2021
When I first started reading this book, I was startled--almost disturbed--by the similarities of the main character's life story to the author's (whose bio I read first). Then I read the description of the book, and understood why. I wasn't quite so disturbed anymore.
Setting: Newport, Rhode Island, the summer of 1926, in various areas of Theophilus' theoretical "nine cities." The godless society of careless living was on full display, whether it be in the wealthy circles or in Theophilus' own social status. I don't mind reading this setting, except when it's basically promoted--or at the least accepted, which is what Theophilus himself did. There are several different references to various aspects of the 1920s--missionary travels, WWI, etc.--but all through a philosophical and puffed-up lens that has no biblical foundation, and therefore no foundation at all.
Characters: Theophilus was a generally well-developed character for being the narrator of his story. Doesn't mean I liked him. The book was written in a way of Theophilus coming in an arrogantly clever way and fixing people's problems. Something about his worldly wisdom turned me off, and many of his solutions were likewise annoying. I got the impression that he was helping people not for others but for himself (and out of his own convenience). That wore off, but what replaced his motive didn't attract me to him any more.
The other characters were neither remarkable nor memorable, not admirable. Since I didn't like Theophilus' character development all that much, I also had nothing for those who helped develop his character. Bodo was a pretty good character, but Theophilus' other friends ran together in my mind. Mrs. Keefe was meant to be a major character, I perceived, but I also perceived that she didn't really do anything. Most chapters were somewhat of an isolated story (talking about particular characters that don't show up any other time), which isn't a bad story structure--considering it's focused on Theophilus and his experiences--but there's no chance for me to grow to like a character if the first impression is one of annoyance.
"Other" Content: It being a novel set in the 20's, there was a smattering of crude/inappropriate behavior mixed with tempered language and consideration of propriety. Sure, Theophilus slept around with multiple women, including married women, but at least it was hush and hush and not explicit in the least (in fact, had I read this five years ago, I likely would not have picked up on it). And sure, saying mildly crude things (purposefully) was likewise tempered into very mild terms (often referring to mildly crude things in an even milder way)--injecting humor into the story. There are other instances of humor, which is why the book gained three stars instead of two.
Setting: Newport, Rhode Island, the summer of 1926, in various areas of Theophilus' theoretical "nine cities." The godless society of careless living was on full display, whether it be in the wealthy circles or in Theophilus' own social status. I don't mind reading this setting, except when it's basically promoted--or at the least accepted, which is what Theophilus himself did. There are several different references to various aspects of the 1920s--missionary travels, WWI, etc.--but all through a philosophical and puffed-up lens that has no biblical foundation, and therefore no foundation at all.
Characters: Theophilus was a generally well-developed character for being the narrator of his story. Doesn't mean I liked him. The book was written in a way of Theophilus coming in an arrogantly clever way and fixing people's problems. Something about his worldly wisdom turned me off, and many of his solutions were likewise annoying. I got the impression that he was helping people not for others but for himself (and out of his own convenience). That wore off, but what replaced his motive didn't attract me to him any more.
The other characters were neither remarkable nor memorable, not admirable. Since I didn't like Theophilus' character development all that much, I also had nothing for those who helped develop his character. Bodo was a pretty good character, but Theophilus' other friends ran together in my mind. Mrs. Keefe was meant to be a major character, I perceived, but I also perceived that she didn't really do anything. Most chapters were somewhat of an isolated story (talking about particular characters that don't show up any other time), which isn't a bad story structure--considering it's focused on Theophilus and his experiences--but there's no chance for me to grow to like a character if the first impression is one of annoyance.
"Other" Content: It being a novel set in the 20's, there was a smattering of crude/inappropriate behavior mixed with tempered language and consideration of propriety. Sure, Theophilus slept around with multiple women, including married women, but at least it was hush and hush and not explicit in the least (in fact, had I read this five years ago, I likely would not have picked up on it). And sure, saying mildly crude things (purposefully) was likewise tempered into very mild terms (often referring to mildly crude things in an even milder way)--injecting humor into the story. There are other instances of humor, which is why the book gained three stars instead of two.
October 17, 2018
Theophilus North is essentially a collection of short stories or sketches that share the time and place of Newport, Rhode Island in the early 1920s. The book is named after the protagonist--and yet, not so much the protagonist because he is the voice, the author of the book. And his stories are about those he meets during the summer he spends in Newport after he quits his teaching job. The reason he is there is fairly tangential, but we see right at the beginning, he has both a fascination with Newport as a town and also with people in general. He has theories about the trees of Newport and how and why they come from all over the world. He considers the "9 cities" of Newport (like Troy). Some are historical, some modern, some intersecting, some autonomous. (Like the servant's city. Or the aristocratic city....) Straight away, we see his interest in the people around him, and it is not surprising that when he shifts his narration from the 9 cities of Newport and describes the 9 ambitions he has pursued at various points, it is not surprising that we see a theme of understanding people---from anthropology to detective work.
When someone wins multiple Pulitzer Prizes for literature, he is, indisputably, an excellent writer. So I don't need to tell you that Thornton Wilder is a great author. But what might come as a surprise is that his work is so easy to read. Almost page-turner quality, not because there is fighting and suspense and action, but because he paints a picture of truly interesting people, each unique and real to the reader. We turn the pages because we care about what happens to them.
for my full review, here's the link to my blog post: https://skippingbarefoot.blogspot.com...
When someone wins multiple Pulitzer Prizes for literature, he is, indisputably, an excellent writer. So I don't need to tell you that Thornton Wilder is a great author. But what might come as a surprise is that his work is so easy to read. Almost page-turner quality, not because there is fighting and suspense and action, but because he paints a picture of truly interesting people, each unique and real to the reader. We turn the pages because we care about what happens to them.
for my full review, here's the link to my blog post: https://skippingbarefoot.blogspot.com...
October 4, 2013
I just loved this last book of Mr Wilder's. I heard that it had a Jeeves and Wooster quality to it and while I can see where that may have come from, I do not necessarily agree. I do love those books as well.
Mr. North is a young man that enjoys a summer of 4 months in 1926 Newport. He is not a wealthy man, but not poor either, somewhat in the middle and does not seem to be a fit for Newport. He is a well educated and read man, served during the late war and has the abilty to observe. That is his best talent, he sees and tries to understand all that is around. He does not try to be, or fit in where he knows he does not belong. He does not force friendships, and takes all he meets on their own, and stays true to himself. He holds no prejudice and will do all he can to stop prejudices from influencing the lives of those he comes in context with.
I just love that he wanted to do so many things with his life, doesn't everyone? And he allows himself to be that and explore life as he sees it. He sees the layers of society, maybe more evident in Newport, and acts within the layers. He does not judge, but does not allow for foolishness either. Love all the characters!
Mr. North is a young man that enjoys a summer of 4 months in 1926 Newport. He is not a wealthy man, but not poor either, somewhat in the middle and does not seem to be a fit for Newport. He is a well educated and read man, served during the late war and has the abilty to observe. That is his best talent, he sees and tries to understand all that is around. He does not try to be, or fit in where he knows he does not belong. He does not force friendships, and takes all he meets on their own, and stays true to himself. He holds no prejudice and will do all he can to stop prejudices from influencing the lives of those he comes in context with.
I just love that he wanted to do so many things with his life, doesn't everyone? And he allows himself to be that and explore life as he sees it. He sees the layers of society, maybe more evident in Newport, and acts within the layers. He does not judge, but does not allow for foolishness either. Love all the characters!
December 24, 2012
This is a great book! It is about a Soldier of Enlightenment who comes to a small New England town ready for action and Adventures in Learning! He explores the 'Nine Cities of Newport' and the author does a lot to enlarge our understanding of the inherent potential of environment and the many levels of perception and understanding it can contain. It helped me to understand how the same place can look completely different to various people as seen through the filter of their life experience.
A richly hilarious book that seems to confirm the idea that 'Comedy is the Theater of the Mind', as well Shakespeare's notion that 'there are stranger things' afoot than dreamt of in our philosophy! There is a kindling of the sense of exhilaration that is at the heart of this book that makes it a treasured read!
July 24, 2014
I only came across Thornton Wider for the first time last year! I love his writing and T.North is a charming and accomplished piece of work. Written at the age of 76 and from a perspective of 50 years, this was the last of Wilder’s works published during his lifetime, this novel is part autobiographical and part the imagined adventure of his twin brother who died at birth. It is written in the first person and I was grabbed from the very first sentence.
Plot:
Setting out to see the world in the summer of 1926, Theophilus North gets as far as Newport, Rhode Island, before his car breaks down. Soon the young man finds himself playing the roles of tutor, spy, confidant, lover, friend, and enemy as he becomes entangled in the intrigues of both upstairs and downstairs in a glittering society dominated by leisure.
Plot:
Setting out to see the world in the summer of 1926, Theophilus North gets as far as Newport, Rhode Island, before his car breaks down. Soon the young man finds himself playing the roles of tutor, spy, confidant, lover, friend, and enemy as he becomes entangled in the intrigues of both upstairs and downstairs in a glittering society dominated by leisure.
July 19, 2023
Theophilus North is set in Newport in the mid 1920s. North who is ~25 leaves his job as a teacher in New Jersey to spend a summer in Newport without much plans. He eventually gets a job as a tennis instructor for children and puts an advertisement in the paper to read for old people. This advertisement leads to him meeting the most prominent families in the city. Each chapter is sort of like a short story, where North encounters something new--chasing down a young woman who her father thinks is about to elope with a divorced man who is in a lower social class or finding out a family is keeping its patriarch inside his house hoping he will die so they can inherit his wealth. It's a pretty cool look into that time period of the uber wealthy and also has deeper themes about finding onself, betrayal, and love. It's a pretty easy read, and I definitely recommend it.
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