Appointment in Samarra (Facsimilie Copy of the 1934 True First Edition) AS NEW
Appointment in Samarra (Facsimilie Copy of the 1934 True First Edition) AS NEW
by O'Hara, John
- Used
- as new
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- AS NEW/As New
- Seller
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San Diego, California, United States
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About This Item
A merchant in Baghdad sends his servant to the marketplace for provisions. Soon afterwards, 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, who made a threatening gesture. Borrowing the merchant's horse, the servant flees at great 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 to his servant. 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 have 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."
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.
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Details
- Seller
- Charles Lewis Best Booksellers (US)
- Seller's Inventory #
- 31138
- Title
- Appointment in Samarra (Facsimilie Copy of the 1934 True First Edition) AS NEW
- Author
- O'Hara, John
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- New
- Jacket Condition
- As New
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Fascimilie Copy of the 1934 True First Edition
- Publisher
- BOMC Book of the Month Club
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- Copyright Renewed 1961
- Keywords
- American Literature
Terms of Sale
Charles Lewis Best Booksellers
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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...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- BOMC
- Book-of-the-Month Club These are popular books republished and sold at a discounted price by one of these many clubs, the...