The Genteel John OHara

Zusatztext

The writer John OHara (1905-1970) came from Pottsville in Pennsylvania. He put his home town and the surrounding vicinity under a microscope to produce an account of The Anthracite Region that rivals Edith Whartons descriptions of New York and Sinclair Lewiss anatomy of Sauk Centre. With the discerning eye of a local resident, OHara recreated this coal-rich region and its people so well that his novelettes, novellas, novels, plays and short stories give a true record of his Pennsylvania Protectorate in the latter part of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. In order to reveal the ethnographical, geographical and historical authenticity of the OHara Canon, this book examines his writings in the context of Pottsville and the borough of Tamaqua, as well as the nearby towns and villages. The author also investigates both OHaras genteel upbringing and his gangster stratum. The book explores the many dimensions of OHaras life from the time of his birth until his escape to New York City in 1928. New sources such as unpublished letters and interviews with OHaras family, friends and enemies provide important insights into OHara, as well as into Pottsville and the surrounding region.

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