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Appointment in Samarra

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Appointment in Samarra

by O'Hara, John

  • Used
  • Fine
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Fine /Fine
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Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Garrison, New York, United States
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About This Item

Harcourt, Brace and Company. DJ in archival cover. Stated first edition. Facsimile of the First Edition. . Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1961.

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
J. Mercurio Books, Maps, & Prints US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
005896
Title
Appointment in Samarra
Author
O'Hara, John
Format/Binding
Hardcover
Book Condition
Used - Fine
Jacket Condition
Fine
Quantity Available
1
Edition
1st Edition
Publisher
Harcourt, Brace and Company
Date Published
1961

Terms of Sale

J. Mercurio Books, Maps, & Prints

Payment can be made by credit card, checks made out to J Mercurio Books, or PayPal. Shipment usually occurs within two business days, unless customer requests that we hold or ship on a different day. If a book or set is oversized, we may contact the customer for additional shipping to ensure proper transport.

About the Seller

J. Mercurio Books, Maps, & Prints

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2019
Garrison, New York

About J. Mercurio Books, Maps, & Prints

We are a 50 year old, third generation antiquarian bookshop nestled in the bucolic Hudson Highlands of New York's historic Hudson Valley, less than a mile from a transverse of the Appalachian Trail. While we have strong first edition literature and poetry collections, we specialize in New York, history, and Americana. We are a proud member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA).

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Fine
A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
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...
Facsimile
An exact copy of an original work. In books, it refers to a copy or reproduction, as accurate as possible, of an original...

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