Thornton Wilder's Our Town and The Bridge of San Luis Rey: And other works (Monarch notes and study guides)

The story takes place in the 18th century, where a Franciscan priest, Brother Juniper, witnessed the fall of a bridge over a mountain pass in Peru and the consequent death of five people who were on this bridge when it fell. He wished to determine scientifically why those particular individuals were chosen for such a fate, and he devoted the following six years to the compilation of a book of his studies of their lives. His pursuit of this question, for which he could find no answer, led to his own execution.