Jonathan Troy

Dodd, Mead & Co., 1954. First edition, first printing. Publisher's full black cloth, spine titled in yellow, in dust jacket. Spine ends rubbed with light wear and closed tear, spine foot with small bump, overall a near fine copy in a bright, very good dust jacket with short closed tear and light chipping along top of spine and some mild foxing and soiling to rear cover and jacket verso, in mylar cover.. 8.25" x 5.75". 374pp. A SOUTHWEST RADICAL'S REJECT

"I don't know where you can find one, but if you do, burn it" was Abbey's response to a searching fan looking for a copy of his first book, Jonathan Troy. His biographer, James Cahalan, recollects that, while reading the galley proofs prior to publication, Abbey thought the novel was "even worse than [he] thought...too juvenile, naive, clumsy, pretentious." Once published, it was a resounding failure. The hatred and regret that Abbey had towards the book persisted into the early 80's, once again calling it "a disgusting novel, fortunately long out of print." This vitriol followed him throughout his lifetime. Oddly, Abbey complained that the book had been "faintly reviewed, virtually ignored, generally unbought." New York Times reviewer Herbert F. West called it a "symphony of disgust." Why had he hated this work so much? The obvious answer, Jonathan Troy, a moniker he used for himself in his adolescence, obliquely referring to his difficult and painful past.

5000 copies were planned for the first printing, roughly 1400 available for sale. Whether showcased with pride or shrouded in shame, this piece is a cornerstone to an Abbey collection, it simply depends on what kind of attention one wants to draw.

Signed, dated, and located on the title page just one year after publication.

[Cahalan, 58-60].