Meet My Maker the Mad Molecule

"There's gladness
In the Glade
Where momma and daddy Made me

There's madness
In the Glade
Where momma and daddy Made me

Where momma and daddy
Made me
In the Glade."

- J.P. Donleavy from the story "Thamn" collected in
Meet My Maker the Mad Molecule.

Photo courtesy The J.P. Donleavy Archive.

It's too bad the short story market is not a lucrative one for contemporary writers. Donleavy excels in short fiction, although little critical attention is given to him regarding his short pieces. The title is the first of many with which Donleavy has used alliteration. In one interview he mentions it was his in intention to have these titles easily identified with the author by this device.

Many of these works appeared first in periodicals (see JPD in Periodicals for details) and some have been included in anthologies (see JPD - Anthologies for more). Two pieces, "A Fairy Tale of New York" and "In my Peach Shoes" became integrated into the novel version of A Fairy Tale of New York. "One for Yes" is an excerpt from the novel A Singular Man, also first published in 1964 by Atlantic/Little, Brown.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Cloth | Atlantic Monthly Press/Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1964 - 178 pages

This edition, the first trade edition, is sometimes incorrectly listed with a publication date of 1960. Individual copyrights for some of the stories are listed before the table of contents, one of them being ©1960 The Curtis Publishing Co. However, just above this notice are other individual copyright dates, the last being 1964.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Cloth | Delacorte Press, New York, 1965 - 178 pages

Seymour Lawrence/Delacorte edition.

To purchase books by J.P. Donleavy, go to the Buyers' Guide.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Cloth | The Bodley Head, London, 1965 - 178 pages

First UK edition. Donleavy had a long association with the publishing firm now known as Penguin Ltd. and its many imprints, among them The Bodley Head, Allen Lane, Viking, and, of course, Penguin. The bulk of Donleavy's works were published by Penguin in hard cover, paperback or both under these various imprints.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Penguin, Middlesex, 1967 - 170 pages

First Penguin printing. First UK paperback edition.

det gale molekyle

Wraps | gyldendal, København, Denmark, 1967 - 178 pages

Danish translation. Paperback with dust jacket.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Dell, New York, 1968 - 191 pages

First US paperback edition. During the period when Donleavy was published in the US by Seymour Lawrence, hardcover editions were generally published under the Delacorte Press imprint, paperbacks by Dell group (Dell/Laurel/Delta).

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Penguin, Middlesex, 1970 - 170 pages

2nd Penguin printing.

Das tollgewordene Molekill - Verrückte Greschichten

Cloth | Kindler, München, 1970 - 224 pages

German translation. Special thanks to Thomas Reginek for publishing info and cover art.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Penguin, Middlesex, 1971 - 170 pages

3rd Penguin printing.

La molecola matta e altri racconti

Cloth | Aldo Garzanti Editore, Roma, 1972 - 248 pages

Italian translation.

La molécula loca

Wraps | Centro Editor de América Latina, Buenos Aires 1972 - 159 pages

Argentine translation.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Penguin, Middlesex, 1973 - 170 pages

4th Penguin printing.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule / The Saddest Summer of Samuel S

Wraps | Dell (first Laurel ed.), New York, 1975 - 258 pages - ISBN 44005937175

This curious edition combines two Donleavy books together in a single volume.The Saddest Summer of Samuel S is a novella published in several single editions, and it
was adapted for the stage by the author under the same title.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Penguin, Middlesex, 1975 - 170 pages - ISBN 14002719X

5th Penguin printing.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Cloth | The Bodley Head, London, 1975 - 178 pages

2nd Bodley Head printing. Scarce.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Penguin, Middlesex, 1976 - 170 pages - ISBN 14002719X

6th Penguin printing.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule / The Saddest Summer of Samuel S

Wraps | Dell (first Laurel ed.), New York, 1979 - 258 pages - ISBN 44005937175

2nd Dell Laurel printing.

La Sale Saison de Samuel S

Wraps | Denoël, Paris, 1979

French translation. Paperback with stiff DJ. This edition is a combination of The Saddest Summer of Samuel S and Meet My Maker the Mad Molecule like the Dell Laurel edition, but it does not state both titles on the DJ or front cover, only on the inside title page.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Penguin, Middlesex, 1979 - 170 pages - ISBN 14002719X

7th Penguin printing.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Penguin, Middlesex, 1981 - 170 pages - ISBN 14002719X

8th Penguin printing.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Penguin, Middlesex, 1988 - 170 pages - ISBN 14002719X

9th Penguin printing.

Meet My Maker The Mad Molecule

Wraps | Penguin, Middlesex, 1989 - 170 pages - ISBN 14002719X

10th Penguin printing.

The Saddest Summer of Samuel S

Wraps? | Azbuka-Classica, Saint-Petersbourg, 2002

Russian translation. Unusual combination of Donleavy pieces. Includes the novella, plus many of the short works from Meet My Maker the Mad Molecule, plus the play version of A Singular Man. Many thanks to Ivan Denisov from Moscow for providing the information regarding this edition and cover photo.

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