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Appointment In Samarra
by O'Hara, John
- Used
- very good
- first
- Condition
- Very good/very good
- Seller
-
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
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. Light rubbing to cloth, rubbing to spine. Errata slip opposite copyright page. In the publisher's first state dust jacket, $2.50 on front flap, "Recent Fiction" listings on rear panel, chip along top edge of front panel, toning to spine, some spotting to verso and soiling to rear panel. A very good example of an unrestored first state dust jacket.
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
- Bookseller
- The First Edition Rare Books, LLC
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 13113
- Title
- Appointment In Samarra
- Author
- O'Hara, John
- Illustrator
- First edition of Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara, in the publisher's first state dust jacket.
- Format/Binding
- Cloth
- Book Condition
- Used - Very good
- Jacket Condition
- very good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition, First Printing
- Publisher
- Harcourt, Brace and Company
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1934
- Keywords
- Appointment in Sahara, Appointment in Samara, first edition John O'Hara, Butterfield 8, The doctor's son and other stories, Pay Joey O'Hara
Terms of Sale
The First Edition Rare Books, LLC
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- Please notify us before returning merchandise by email or phone.
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- Deferred billing available upon request.
About the Seller
The First Edition Rare Books, LLC
Biblio member since 2017
Cincinnati, Ohio
About The First Edition Rare Books, LLC
The First Edition offers collectors the finest assortment of rare and notable books from around the world.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Errata
- Errata: aka Errata Slip A piece of paper either laid in to the book correcting errors found in the printed text after being...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Copyright page
- The page in a book that describes the lineage of that book, typically including the book's author, publisher, date of...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- 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...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- First State
- used in book collecting to refer to a book from the earliest run of a first edition, generally distinguished by a change in some...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
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