About J. P. Donleavy
James Patrick Donleavy, popularly known as J. P. Donleavy, was an American-Irish author, short story writer, novelist, and playwright. Known for the dark humor in his writings, he first achieved critical acclaim with his picaresque novel The Ginger Man (1955), initially published in Paris. The novel became an international bestseller, selling 50 million copies worldwide. It is one of the best-selling books of all time and has been translated into over 30 languages. The novel is Donleavy's best-known work, and in 1998, it was ranked 99th by the Modern Library in its list of the "100 Best Novels of the 20th century". Donleavy's first published work was a short story entitled A Party on Saturday Afternoon, which appeared in the Dublin literary periodical Envoy in 1950. The novel, of which Donleavy's friend and fellow writer Brendan Behan was the first person to read the completed manuscript, was banned in Ireland and the United States by reason of obscenity.
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