The years since his death in 1970 have not been kind to the literary reputation of John O'Hara . Increasingly fewer readers, but especially younger ones, are aware of O'Hara's enormously productive career as the creator of fifteen novels, six published plays, and over four hundred short stories. Almost all of O'Hara's work sold well, making him probably the most popular serious writer of his era (1930-1970). Few American writers of the 1950s and 1960s could count on such widespread public appeal as O'Hara, despite the opposition of a majority of critics who characterized his work as prolix, reactionary, or shallow. None of these detractors, however, dismissed O'Hara as a hack during his lifetime, and-- notwithstanding O'Hara's current eclipse--future historians of American literature will probably assess his achievements, particularly in short fiction, as noteworthy.

In fact, even before his dead, O'Hara and his audience were well aware of the critical...