Description
Author
John Phillips
Publisher
Harper & Brothers, New York, 1953
First Edition (stated “FIRST EDITION” with code A-C)
Format
Hardcover (no dust jacket)
Condition
Very Good: clean interior, strong binding, expected age toning, light wear to boards consistent with a well-cared-for mid-century volume.
The Second Happiest Day is a tender, perceptive mid-century novel that peers into the private joys, disappointments, and defining choices that shape ordinary lives. John Phillips writes with a graceful, cinematic clarity—letting small domestic moments unfold into revelations about love, identity, and the fragile pursuit of happiness.
Set against the backdrop of postwar America, the novel follows characters navigating changing expectations, quiet heartbreaks, and the rare moments that make an ordinary day unforgettable. Phillips has an elegant, understated style that rewards readers who enjoy thoughtful, character-driven fiction in the tradition of Evan S. Connell, John Cheever, and early John O’Hara.
Ideal for readers who enjoy:
• Intimate, psychological storytelling
• 1950s domestic fiction
• Warm, humanistic observations of everyday life
• Literary time-capsules from America’s mid-century authors
A lovely first edition for fans of classic mid-20th-century literature—equally enjoyable to read or to keep as part of a vintage library.