The Cabala

"Thornton Wilder's 1926 debut novel
probes the inscrutable mystery of the ancient, fabulous wealth that confers a
kind of immortality on its custodians, allowing their natures to form without
concession or compromise to life beyond their privileged enclave… .
[It] established Wilder as one of the most accomplished stylists of his generation."
—The Guardian

In The Cabala,
Samuele, an American student, spends a year in the fabulously decadent world of
post World War I Rome. He experiences first-hand the waning days of a secret
community—a “cabala” composed of decaying European royalty, eccentric
expatriate Americans, even a great cardinal of the Roman Church.

The vivid portraits
he paints of these characters, whom he views as the vestigial representatives
of the gods and goddesses of Ancient Rome, launched Wilder’s career as a
celebrated storyteller and literary stylist.