The Fires of Spring (1949) is Michener's second book and first novel. His first book was Tales of the South Pacific published in 1947. It won the Pulitzer Prize and was the basis for Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1949 musical, South Pacific. The Fires of Spring is partially autobiographical. The book begins in a poorhouse and follows young orphan David Harper as he searches for meaning and romance in pre-World War II Pennsylvania. The beginning of the story has no fixed dates (as far as I can see) but it follows Harper through his life up to the time of World War II