Appointment in Samarra.
by O'HARA, John
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Slightly cocked; some effacement and oxidation of gold on spine; else a very good copy in a good to very good jacket with some l
- Seller
-
Rochester, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
At the ripe age of twenty-eight, John O’Hara completed Appointment in Samarra, his first novel, in less than four months. At a similarly quick pace, the events of the book take place in a span of just three days. In this brief time, Appointment in Samarra tells of the increasingly impulsive and self-destructive acts that lead to the main character’s suicide. Julian English, once a high-ranking member of the community of Gibbsville, angers and alienates those close to him, resulting in the rapid decline of his social status. Specific explanations for Julian’s behavior are unclear in the text, though personal insecurities along with his alcoholism undoubtedly play a role. The small-town prejudices of Gibbsville (O’Hara’s fictionalized version of his hometown, Pottsville, Pennsylvania) greatly affect Julian’s demise as well. Omniscient narration works to expose these prejudices via the inner thoughts of various people in the town. The title, Appointment in Samarra, is a reference to W. Somerset Maugham's 1933 retelling of an old story in his play, Sheppey. In the story, which appears as an epigraph for the novel, Death speaks of meeting a merchant in Samarra, informing the reader from the beginning of the novel’s fatal ending. In his foreword to the 1952 reprint, O'Hara says that the working title for the novel was The Infernal Grove. It was not until fellow writer Dorothy Parker showed him the story in Maugham's play that he got the idea for the title Appointment in Samarra. Modern Library ranked Appointment in Samarra 22nd on its list of the “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century.
Read More: Identifying first editions of Appointment in Samarra.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 63038
- Title
- Appointment in Samarra.
- Author
- O'HARA, John
- Format/Binding
- Publisher's cloth in dust jacket.
- Book Condition
- Used - Slightly cocked; some effacement and oxidation of gold on spine; else a very good copy in a good to very good jacket with some l
- Edition
- First edition.
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Harcourt Brace,
- Place of Publication
- New York:
- Date Published
- [1934].
- Pages
- 301 pp.
- Size
- 8vo,
Terms of Sale
Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books
About the Seller
Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books
About Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Chipping
- A defect in which small pieces are missing from the edges; fraying or small pieces of paper missing the edge of a paperback, or...
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...