A mystery
Going through my bookshelf yesterday I remembered one of my more cherished books – and also my most frustrating find.
First semester of senior year I took an American Drama class. One of the plays assigned was Long Day’s Journey Into Night, one of Eugene O’Neill’s last plays. One of the great things about English classes was that even though their were more books, there were more widely in circulation, and much cheaper.
I stopped by Collected Stories, a used bookshop in Milford’s downtown area to pick up Journey and several other books I needed for my literature classes. The version I bought of the play was quite old, but I didn’t think much of it.
A few months later, actually sitting down to read the book, I found this inscription on page 2:
September 28, 1956
Darling;
Please find as much enjoyment reading this as, as it was for me to give it to you.
Perhaps in 1978, when you turn to this page for one more time, you will think of us now and think of our love.
Gene
Yes, that was my first thought too. But Eugene O’Neill died in 1953. Two pages later is the actual Gene’s (the writer of the play that is) dedication to his wife Carlotta. Either the dedicator had the same name, or was playing a joke on the receiver.
I just called Collected Stories and unfortunately, they do not keep records of who sold or gave them books. The only other clue is that the page before the dedication, the book is inscribed with the name Mr. and Mrs. S.A. Di Roma. I would have bought the book at Collected Stories around July or August of 2007.
Any ideas or leads?
