John O'Hara (1905-1970) · AuthorAuthor
John O'Hara
1905-1970 · American novelist and short-story writer from Pottsville, Pennsylvania
About John O'Hara
John O'Hara (1905–1970) was an American novelist and short-story writer from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, the model for the 'Gibbsville' of much of his fiction. A prolific contributor to The New Yorker, he was known for his ear for dialogue and his close observation of class, status and sexual mores. His first novel, Appointment in Samarra (1934), was followed by BUtterfield 8 (1935), Pal Joey and the National Book Award-winning Ten North Frederick (1955).
Notable works
- Appointment in Samarra (1934)
- BUtterfield 8 (1935)
- Pal Joey (1940)
- Ten North Frederick (1955)
- From the Terrace (1958)
On this site
BUtterfield 8John O'Hara
1935 · Early 20th Century · Novel
BUtterfield 8, named for a fashionable Manhattan telephone exchange, is set in New York in 1931, in the last years of Prohibition and the early Depression, among speakeasies, apartment hotels and the blurred borderland between respectable society and its demimonde. Its central figure is Gloria Wandrous, a beautiful, intelligent young woman who drinks heavily, sleeps with men who interest her and lives partly on their generosity, while refusing to see herself as a kept woman or a prostitute.