John O'Hara

Prolific American author of the mid-twentieth century. Born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, he later used the town, under the fictitious name of Gibbsville, as the setting for many of his novels and short stories. Among his books adapted for films are "From the Terrace," "A Rage to Live," "Ten North Frederick," "Pal Joey," and "Butterfield 8." Other well-known titles of his are "Ourselves to Know," "The Big Laugh," "A Family Party," and especially "Appointment in Samarra." Critic Woolcott Gibbs ranked the last-named with Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and Sinclair Lewis's "Babbitt" as the three best novels about America in the 1920s. O'Hara died in Princeton in 1970 and his novels fell into neglect shortly thereafter. Many fans and critics feel a revival of interest is long overdue.