The year before he published the Pulitzer Prize winner The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Thornton Wilder penned his debut novel, The Cabala, the story of a young American student who spends a year in the exotic world of post-World War I Rome. Also included here is the 1930 tale of ancient Greece, The Woman of Andros, in which a beautiful but world-weary courtesan named Chrysis, a courtesan explores universal questions of what is precious about life.