Appointment In Samarra
by O'Hara, John
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.
First Edition Identification
Harcourt, Brace & Company first published Appointment in Samarra in 1934. Bound in black cloth, the 301-page first edition states “First Edition” on the copyright page. The dust jacket has the original price of $2.50 printed on the front flap and “Recent Fiction” printed on the back panel (instead of reviews). While true first editions of the novel have sold for upwards of $12,500, first editions signed by O’Hara have sold for twice that.
Other Collectible or Notable Editions
Faber and Faber published the first UK edition of Appointment in Samarra in 1935.
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APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA
by O’Hara John
- Condition
- Used
- Published
- [1934]
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA
- Item Price
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A$9,491.24
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New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1934]. First edition, First Issue, with the tipped in errattum slip as called for. 8vo, publisher’s original black polished cloth lettered on the spine in gilt. IN THE SCARCE FIRST ISSUE DUSTJACKET, with the $2.50 price and with “Recent Fiction” on the back cover. 301pp. A… Read more about this item Item Price
A$9,491.24
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Appointment in Samarra
by O'HARA, John
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Published
- 1934
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
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Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
- Item Price
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A$5,490.80
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New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934. Hardcover. Good. First edition. Errata slip tipped-in. A good copy with the paper over the front hinge slightly repaired, and some of the usual smudging or light stains on the glazed front board, a sound good or a little better copy lacking the dustwrapper. Ownership signature of Anthony Soma ("A. Soma")… Read more about this item Item Price
A$5,490.80
APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA: A NOVEL
by O'Hara, John
- Condition
- Used
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1934
- Quantity Available
- 1
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Stephenson, Virginia, USA
- Item Price
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A$7,530.24
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New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934. First Edition. Attractive copy of O'Hara's first novel, a hard-hitting and realistic story of Pennsylvania car dealer Julian English, who over the course of three days engages in a self-destructive chain of events culminating in his suicide. One of the defining books of the 1930's, ranking number 22 on the Modern Library's… Read more about this item Item Price
A$7,530.24
Appointment in Samarra
by John O'Hara
- Condition
- Used - Very Good -
- Published
- 1934
- Binding
- Cloth
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Waccabuc, New York, USA
- Item Price
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A$1,176.60
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New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934. Cloth. Very Good -. WARMLY INSCRIBED BY JOHN O'HARA IN YEAR-OF-PUBLICATION (to New York decorator George Basso) on the front free endpaper. A solid copy to boot of the September 1934 stated 3rd printing. Tight and VG- in its dark cloth, with light fraying along the spine crown, the residue of… Read more about this item Item Price
A$1,176.60
Appointment in Samarra
by O'Hara, John
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1934
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Woodstock, Illinois, USA
- Item Price
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A$1,106.00
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New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1934. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. First State. Very Good in a Good second state jacket, unclipped ($2.50), generally rubbed with some creases, chipped at the corners and at the front gutter. Black buckram boards, some rubbing, with gilt lettering on the spine. Firmly bound with a slight forward lean to the… Read more about this item Item Price
A$1,106.00
Appointment in Samarra.
by O'Hara, John
- Condition
- Used
- Published
- 1934
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Palm Beach, Florida, USA
- Item Price
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A$7,059.60
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New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934. First edition of the author's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Fine with a contemporary bookplate to the inner gutter, in the first issue dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box. A very nice example. Item Price
A$7,059.60
Appointment in Samarra.
by O'Hara, John
- Condition
- Used
- Published
- 1934
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Palm Beach, Florida, USA
- Item Price
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A$9,412.80
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New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934. First edition of the author's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine first issue dust jacket with a few small closed tears, contemporary bookplate to the front pastedown. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise box. A very nice example. Item Price
A$9,412.80
Organic Chemistry
by Smith, L. Oliver & Stanley J Cristol
- Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- None Issued
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1966
- Binding
- Hard Cover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Olive Hill, Kentucky, USA
- Item Price
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A$141.19
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New York, N. Y., U. S. A.: Reinhold Publishing, 1966. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/None Issued. Wonderful textbook of Organic Chemistry. A must for the collector and Chemestry buff alike. Reinhold textbook series.966 pages and index. Presentation Note in Back, Presented to JL Miller by Reinhold College Textbook Department at the request of Joseph E Smith. No… Read more about this item Item Price
A$141.19
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Appointment In Samarra
by O'Hara, John
- Condition
- Used - Very good
- Jacket Condition
- very good
- Edition
- First Edition, First Printing
- Published
- 1934
- Binding
- Cloth
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Item Price
-
A$2,117.88
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New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934. First Edition, First Printing. Cloth. Very good/very good. First edition of Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara, in the publisher's first state dust jacket.. Octavo, 301pp. Black cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine. Stated "first edition" on copyright page. Dust along top edge, with a splash mark not affecting text.… Read more about this item Item Price
A$2,117.88
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Appointment In Samarra
by O'hara, John
- Condition
- Used - Very Good+
- Jacket Condition
- VG-
- Edition
- Book Club Edition
- Published
- 1961
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Calgary , Alberta, CAN
- Item Price
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A$45.80
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New York: Harcourt Brace, 1961 This Is The BMOC Facsimile Edition, renewed Copyright 1961, In Very Good Plus Condition, Black Boards, Gilt Titles, Yellow Green Topstain, No Writing Or Marks, Clean interior.Very Good Corners And Binding. The Dust Jacket Is rated as VG-, Due To A Missing Three Inch Long Vee From The Rear Panel. Looking very nice in… Read more about this item Item Price
A$45.80
Appointment in Samarra (Modern Library #42.3)
by O'HARA, John
- Condition
- Used - Very Good+ in Very Good+ dust jacket
- Published
- [c.1959]
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Littleton, Colorado, USA
- Item Price
-
A$54.91
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New York: The Modern Library / Random House. Very Good+ in Very Good+ dust jacket. [c.1959]. Hardcover. A Modern Library edition of John O'Hara's first novel, originally published in 1934. This is the story of Julian English, a well-to-do car dealer whose self-destructive behavior makes him persona non grata in his town. With a foreword for this… Read more about this item Item Price
A$54.91
Appointment in Samarra
by O'Hara, John
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- fair
- Edition
- Cloth/dust jacket and mylar wrapped octavo
- Published
- 1934
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Paris, FRA
- Item Price
-
A$83.73
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Description:
New York: Duell, Sloan, & Pearce, 1934. Cloth/dust jacket and mylar wrapped octavo. Hardcover. Good/fair. brick-red cloth green lettering top edge green dust jacket unclipped 301 pp dj chipped, especially at top of spine.
Item Price
A$83.73
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APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA
by O'Hara, John
- Condition
- Used - Very good plus.
- Edition
- First edition
- Published
- 1934
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- Item Price
-
A$4,706.40
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Description:
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934. First edition. Very good plus.. First edition, scarce advance "presentation" copy, of O'Hara's acclaimed novel, in the original pictorial wrappers. "To me, O'Hara is the real Fitzgerald," Fran Lebowitz once said; underrated "because every single person who knew him hated him." Untrue; unkind; but fair enough. This is O'Hara's best known… Read more about this item Item Price
A$4,706.40
Appointment in Samarra
by O'Hara, John
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1934
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
New York, New York, USA
- Item Price
-
A$1,961.00
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Description:
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Cloth; dust jacket; 8vo; pp. 301. First printing, with tipped-in errata slip. Second issue dust jacket by Maurer, with reviews on rear panel. Spine tips and lettering rubbed; waterspots on the cloth; ownership signature and faint erased remains of an inscription on… Read more about this item Item Price
A$1,961.00
Appointment in Samarra
by John O'Hara
- Condition
- Used - Very good. First Thus. Rare.
- Published
- 1997
- ISBN
- 9780141180069
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
London, London, GBR
- Item Price
-
A$15.57
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Penguin Classics, 1997. Very good. First Thus. Rare. . Item Price
A$15.57
Appointment in Samarra
by O'Hara, John
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1934
- Binding
- Paperback
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
New York, New York, USA
- Item Price
-
A$6,275.20
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Description:
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934 First edition, advance reading copy (ARC). Publisher's pictorial wrappers designed by Alfred Maurer, with the iconic deco design of a car driving through a hilled landscape in green, yellow, and black, lettered in yellow and black, and top of front flap priced at $2.50. Very good or better, with some light toning and… Read more about this item Item Price
A$6,275.20
Appointment In Samarra
by O’HARA, JOHN
- Condition
- Used
- Published
- 1934
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Item Price
-
A$2,902.28
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New York: Harcourt, 1934. First Edition of the Author’s First Novel. Laid in is a terrific Autograph Postcard Signed from John O’Hara dated September 2, 1934 sent from San Francisco and depicting the handsome St. Francis Hotel. Comically addressed to a woman, “Chevalier Charlot Rosenberg” sent to her at a bar named “Tony’s, 59 West 52, New York, NY.”… Read more about this item Item Price
A$2,902.28
Appointment In Samarra (With A New Foreword By The Author)
by O'hara, John
- Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Good
- Edition
- First Modern Library Edition 1st Printing
- Published
- 1953
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Pasadena, California, USA
- Item Price
-
A$39.22
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Description:
The Modern Library, 1953. First Modern Library Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Good. 301 Pp. Blue Cloth Stamped In Gilt And Red. First Modern Library Edition, 1953, Stated. Book Lightly Used, No Marks. Dust Jacket Priced $1.25, 365 Titles On Inside List. Dust Jacket Worn, Small Edge Tears And Losses.
Item Price
A$39.22
Appointment in Samarra (Modern Library)
by John O'Hara
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- first edition thus
- Published
- 1994
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780679601104
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Uncasville, Connecticut, USA
- Item Price
-
A$56.40
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first printing thus hardcover edition in dust jacket (Modern Library 1994); unmarked; tight bind; clean cloth cover bright gilt titling; little dj edge wear no tears; flap price present ambib Item Price
A$56.40
Appointment in Samarra.
by O'HARA, John.
- Condition
- Used - Tiny ms. ink date (10/25/34) on the upper corner of the front free endpaper; a few of the usual light marks to the black cloth;
- Edition
- First edition.
- Published
- [1934].
- Binding
- Publisher's cloth in dust jacket.
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Rochester, New York, USA
- Item Price
-
A$7,059.60
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Description:
New York:: Harcourt Brace and Company,, [1934].. First edition.. publisher's cloth in dust jacket.. Tiny ms. ink date (10/25/34) on the upper corner of the front free endpaper; a few of the usual light marks to the black cloth; else very good or better. The dust jacket has a few tiny chips and some light overall tanning. … Read more about this item Item Price
A$7,059.60
