Appointment in Samarra. by O'Hara, John

Shelton, : The First Edition Library, . Facsimile of the First Edition.. Close to new. Absolutely Fine condition. Includes even the reprinted errata - leaf and the publisher's advertising slip.. Facsimile of the First Edition. Shelton, The First Edition Library, 1961. Octavo. 301 pages. Original Hardcover with illustrated dustjacket in illustrated slipcase. Close to new. Absolutely Fine condition. Includes even the reprinted errata - leaf and the publisher's advertising slip. Appointment in Samarra, published in 1934, is the first novel by American writer John O'Hara (1905 – 1970). It concerns the self-destruction and suicide of the fictional character Julian English, a well-to-do car dealer who was once a member of the social elite of Gibbsville (O'Hara's fictionalized version of Pottsville, Pennsylvania). The book sparked controversy due to O'Hara's inclusion of sexual content. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Appointment in Samarra 22nd on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The title is a reference to W. Somerset Maugham's retelling of an ancient Mesopotamian tale,[1] which appears as an epigraph for the novel: A merchant in Baghdad sends his servant to the marketplace for provisions. Shortly, the servant comes home white and trembling and tells him that in the marketplace he was jostled by a woman, whom he recognized as Death, and she made a threatening gesture. Borrowing the merchant's horse, he flees at top speed to Samarra, a distance of about 75 miles (125 km), where he believes Death will not find him. The merchant then goes to the marketplace and finds Death, and asks why she made the threatening gesture. She replies, "That was not a threatening gesture, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra." In his foreword to the 1952 reprint, O'Hara says that the working title for the novel was The Infernal Grove. He got the idea for the title Appointment in Samarra when Dorothy Parker showed him the story in Maugham's play, Sheppey. He says "Dorothy didn't like the title, [publisher] Alfred Harcourt didn't like the title, his editors didn't like it, nobody liked it but me." O'Hara describes it as a reference to "the inevitability of Julian English's death." (Wikipedia)