The Eighth Day (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Thornton Wilder
- First Published: 1967
- Type of Plot: Family saga
- Time of Work: 1880-1905
- Setting: Chicago, Illinois; Coaltown, Illinois; Hoboken, New Jersey; and Chile
- Principal Characters: John Ashley, Beata Ashley, Roger Ashley, Lily Ashley, Sophia Ashley, Constance Ashley, Breckenridge Lansing, George Lansing
- Genres: Long fiction, Family literature
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Parents and children, Murder or homicide, Escapes, Nineteenth century, Midwest, Chicago, Fathers, South America or South Americans
- Locales: Chicago, IL, Chile, Hoboken, NJ
The Novel
In a prologue, Thornton Wilder sets forth the external facts of the conviction of John Ashley in 1902 for the murder of Breckenridge Lansing, his subsequent rescue by five masked men shortly before his scheduled execution, and his escape to parts unknown. Then, in six long chapters, the novel moves backward and forward in time to explore the background of the Ashley and Lansing families, their relationships to the community, and their reactions to these bizarre events.
The Ashleys and Lansings live at opposite ends of the main street of a depressed southern...
[The entire page is 2407 words long]
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