Jonathan Troy (1954) was Edward Abbey's first published novel, as detailed in James M. Cahalan's biography of Abbey. Only 5,000 copies were printed and almost immediately after it was released the author wanted to disown the work. He asked that it never be published again, and it has not been, making it very rare and the only one of his eight novels that many Edward Abbey fans have not read.
When a fan once asked where they could find a copy of t...
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Jonathan Troy (1954) was Edward Abbey's first published novel, as detailed in James M. Cahalan's biography of Abbey. Only 5,000 copies were printed and almost immediately after it was released the author wanted to disown the work. He asked that it never be published again, and it has not been, making it very rare and the only one of his eight novels that many Edward Abbey fans have not read.
When a fan once asked where they could find a copy of the novel, Abbey is reported to have told them "I don't know where you can find one, but if you do, burn it." That, of course, would be a huge mistake. Copies of the book offered for sale online start at $1,300 and go up to $4,500.
Abbey's disgust with the novel was immediate. According to James M Cahalan's biography, "Edward Abbey, A Life," he could barely get through the galleys before the book was published. He said it seemed "even worse than I had thought," too "juvenile, naive, succeeded in almost nothing. Too much empty rhetoric, not...
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