First published in 1930, Wilder's bestselling novel The Woman of Andros is set on the obscure Greek island of Brynos before the birth of Christ. It explores universal questions of what is precious about life and how we live, love, and die, depicted through the life of an enigmatic courtesan, Chrysis. It is celebrated for some of the most beautiful writing in American literature. The Ides of March, first published in 1948, is a brilliant epistolary novel set in Julius Caesar's Rome. Through vividly imagined letters and documents, Wilder brings to life a dramatic period of world history and one of its most magnetic, elusive personalities.