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28-591: Robert James Waller (August 1, 1939 – March 10, 2017) was an American author best known for The Bridges of Madison County . He was also a professor, photographer, and musician. Robert James Waller Jr. was born in Charles City, Iowa , and grew up in Rockford, Iowa . In 1961, he married Georgia Ann Wiedemeier. Waller received his BA ('62) and MA ('64) from University of Northern Iowa (then known as Iowa State Teachers College). He received his PhD in business from

56-550: A New York Times bestseller , the top best-seller in 1993. Both that novel and his 1995 novel Puerto Vallarta Squeeze have been made into motion pictures. In 1997, Waller and his wife, Georgia, divorced. Around that time, he began a relationship with Linda Bow, whom he married in 2004. An article in People Magazine commented on the divorce: "The parallels between Waller's life and his art—his Bridges heroine, farmwife Francesca, sacrifices her chance for happiness with

84-473: A globe-hopping photographer in order to stay home and shield her loved ones from small-town scandal—haven't been lost on the locals." Waller died on March 10, 2017, at his home in Fredericksburg, Texas . He was 77 and had been battling multiple myeloma . The Bridges of Madison County The novel is one of the bestselling books of the 20th century, with 50 million copies sold worldwide. It

112-463: A growing taste for handmade cards made it economically possible for smaller niche companies to set up in competition with the large established brands. Innovative companies such as Nobleworks and Meri Meri grew from their foundation in the 1980s to becoming significant influencers in the industry. A thriving market was established for what were now called "alternative" greeting cards. The name stuck even though these "alternative" cards grew to embrace

140-631: A hand written greeting.   The custom of sending greeting cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese who exchanged messages of good will to celebrate the New Year , and to the early Egyptians , who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls. By the early 15th century, handmade paper greeting cards were being exchanged in Europe. The Germans are known to have printed New Year's greetings from woodcuts as early as 1400, and handmade paper Valentines were being exchanged in various parts of Europe in

168-588: A holiday card that he could send to his friends and acquaintances. In the 1860s, inventor Hugh Pierce Jr., inspired by the Christmas card, invented the Birthday card . Companies like Marcus Ward & Co , Charles Goodall & Son , and Charles Bennett began the mass production of greeting cards. They employed well-known artists such as Kate Greenaway and Walter Crane as illustrators and card designers. The extensive Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection from

196-597: A khaki fabric card appeared in 1899 during the first Christmas of the Boer War and was issued by a business in Glasgow. In New Zealand, it was not uncommon to receive a khaki greeting card, even the premier, RJ Seddon is said to have received one. An example of a fabric card is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum , and is a small square of fabric with a heavy fringe created by threads with

224-454: A manner similar to the writings of James A. Michener , though it features more sexuality than Michener's books. The Bridges of Madison County received multiple comparisons to Erich Segal 's Love Story (1970) for its plot and prose. For Rolling Stone , Peter Travers said that Waller's prose was modeled on Walt Whitman 's work, but instead resembled a greeting card . Travers also said that The Bridges of Madison County exists within

252-485: A regular narrative. Orlando Sentinel Publishers Weekly found The Bridges of Madison County "Quietly powerful and thoroughly credible". L.S. Klepp of Entertainment Weekly called The Bridges of Madison County "a short, poignant story, moving precisely because it has the ragged edges of reality". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the novella's "compelling" story for "elevating to

280-491: A relatively expensive, handmade and hand-delivered gift to a popular and affordable means of personal communication, due largely to advances in printing, mechanization, and a reduction in postal rates with the introduction of the postage stamp . This was followed by new trends like Christmas cards , the first of which appeared in published form in London in 1843 when Sir Henry Cole hired artist John Calcott Horsley to design

308-405: A song Waller wrote years earlier about "the dreams of a woman named Francesca", gave him the idea for the novel, which he completed in eleven days. After he had written The Bridges of Madison County , Waller came to believe that he had based the character of Francesca Johnson on his wife, Georgia, whom Francesca physically resembles. According to Marc Eliot, Waller's novella is a modernization of

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336-526: A spiritual level the common fantasy, in which a virile stranger materializes in the kitchen of a quiet housewife and takes her into his arms." The book debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in August 1992 and slowly climbed to number 1, and remained on the list for over three years (164 consecutive weeks), through October 8, 1995. The Bridges of Madison County was made into a 1995 film of

364-666: A total cost of more than US$ 7 billion. A counter card in the U.S. typically sells for $ 2 to $ 4. Boxed cards, which are a popular option for Christmas cards or other times when multiple cards are sent, tend to cost less. The Greeting Card Association is a U.S. trade organization representing the interests of greeting card and stationery manufacturers. John Beeder, former president of the Greeting Card Association, says greeting cards are effective tools to communicate important feelings to people you care about: "Anyone feels great when they receive an unexpected card in

392-419: A tradition of "great romantic crocks" like Pat Conroy 's The Prince of Tides (1986). The New York Times Magazine found the novella's prose comparable to that of Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970) by Richard Bach . The Independent 's Nicolette Jones found the novella reminiscent of the books published by Mills & Boon , while Owen Gleiberman found it more similar to an anecdote than to

420-413: A variety of styles. There are both mass-produced and handmade versions available and they may be distributed by hundreds of companies large and small. While typically inexpensive, more elaborate cards with die-cuts , pop-ups, sound elements or glued-on decorations may be more expensive. Hallmark Cards and American Greetings , both U.S.-based companies, are the two largest producers of greeting cards in

448-599: A vast range of styles and ultimately changed the look of the industry. The largest recorded number of greeting cards sent to a single person went to Craig Shergold , a beneficiary/victim of chain letters and later chain emails. In the United Kingdom , an estimated one billion pounds are spent on greeting cards every year, with the average person sending 55 cards annually. In the United States, approximately 6.5 billion greeting cards are bought each year, at

476-565: The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on January 17, 2014 and officially opened on February 20, 2014 with Kelli O'Hara as Francesca and Steven Pasquale as Robert Kincaid. Directed by Bartlett Sher, the sets are by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber , and lighting by Donald Holder. Hunter Foster played the role of Bud Johnson, the husband of Francesca. It closed in May of the same year after 100 performances. In 2018,

504-644: The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington in 1968. Later that year, he returned to UNI and began teaching management and economics and in 1977 became a full professor. He became the founding dean of the College of Business in 1980 and retired from that position in 1986. In addition to his teaching and administrative duties, Waller was also the director of the university's International Business Institute. In 1992, Waller published his first novel, The Bridges of Madison County . It became

532-492: The Manchester Metropolitan University gathers 32,000 Victorian and Edwardian greeting cards and 450 Valentine's Day cards dating from the early nineteenth century, printed by the major publishers of the day. Technical developments like color lithography in 1930 propelled the manufactured greeting card industry forward. Humorous greeting cards, known as studio cards , became popular in

560-469: The Noël Coward play Still Life (1934), which was adapted into David Lean 's film Brief Encounter (1945). Still Life is about "the desperation, guilt, and temptations of two married people who meet, fall in love, commit adultery , and then separate forever". In The New York Times , Brigitte Weeks said that The Bridges of Madison County had appealed to "middle-aged, world-weary people" in

588-743: The Argentine theatrical director Luis "Indio" Romero directed the actors Facundo Arana and Araceli González in a Spanish version of the work. Greeting card A greeting card is a piece of card stock , usually with an illustration or photo , made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays , Christmas or other holidays , such as Halloween , they are also sent to convey thanks or express other feelings (such as condolences or best wishes to get well from illness ). Greeting cards are usually packaged using an envelope and come in

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616-571: The Father of the American Christmas Card. A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard , typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope . Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard for a lower fee than a letter . Stamp collectors distinguish between postcards (which require a postage stamp ) and postal cards (which have

644-546: The early to mid-15th century, with the oldest Valentine in existence being in the British Museum . The card was written to Bonne of Armagnac by her husband, Charles Duke of Orleans , who was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time. Not surprisingly, its message is rather downbeat. Its opening reads: ‘I am already sick of love / my very gentle Valentine.’ By the 1850s, the greeting card had been transformed from

672-511: The late 1940s and 1950s. In the 1970s, Recycled Paper Greetings , a small company needing to establish a competing identity against the large companies like Hallmark Cards , began publishing humorous, whimsical card designs with the artist's name credited on the back. This was away from what was known as the standard look (sometimes called the Hallmark look.) During the 1980s, reduced costs of small batch printing and die cutting together with

700-439: The mail. For me, there’s nothing like a greeting card to send a special message. I’m proud to be a part of an industry that not only keeps people connected, but uses both imagery and the power of words to help us express our emotions.” Since 1988, the Greeting Card Association has held an annual award ceremony for the best greetings cards published that year. The awards are called Louies in recognition of Louis Prang , described as

728-483: The same name , adapted by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Clint Eastwood . It stars Eastwood and Meryl Streep . The Bridges of Madison County was adapted into a Tony Award -winning musical with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and the book by Marsha Norman , premiering at the 2013 Williamstown Theatre Festival . Directed by Bartlett Sher , the cast featured Elena Shaddow as Francesca and Steven Pasquale . The musical began previews on Broadway at

756-533: The world today. In Western countries and increasingly in other societies, many people traditionally mail seasonally themed cards to their friends and relatives in December. Many service businesses also send cards to their customers in this season, usually with a universally acceptable non-religious message such as "happy holidays" or "season's greetings." Counter cards : Greeting cards that are sold individually. This contrasts with boxed cards . The concept of

784-536: Was adapted into a feature film in 1995 and a musical in 2013. Without expecting to, Robert James Waller conceived of The Bridges of Madison County in the early 1990s. On leave from his teaching job at the University of Northern Iowa , Waller was photographing the Mississippi River with a friend when he decided to photograph the covered bridges of Madison County, Iowa . This event, alongside

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