A Moon for the Misbegotten was published by Random House in 1952 (the Broadway production failed in 1947; the play was not successfully staged until 1973). It is the companion piece and sequel to Long Day’s Journey into Night — Jamie Tyrone (here called Jim), the elder brother, ten years later: a devastated alcoholic living on the rent from a Connecticut farm leased to Phil Hogan, an Irish tenant farmer.
Josie Hogan, Phil’s daughter, is a large, powerful woman (O’Neill specifies she is nearly six feet tall and 180 pounds) who maintains a reputation for sleeping with local men — a reputation that is entirely invented to give her a persona in a community that would otherwise treat her with pity or contempt. She is actually a virgin.
The play’s emotional center is a single night: Jim arrives drunk, and Josie takes him outside under the moonlight. He confesses his deepest shame — that on the train bringing his mother’s body home from California (she died of a brain tumor), he spent the journey drinking and sleeping with a prostitute in the next compartment, unable to grieve except through self-destruction. Josie holds him through the night — a pietà — and by morning he has achieved a momentary peace.
Collecting A Moon for the Misbegotten
First edition (Random House, New York, 1952): Boards with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine in jacket: $150–$400
- Very good in jacket: $60–$150
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation. O’Neill’s last completed play.
Jamie’s Redemption
A Moon for the Misbegotten (completed 1943, first produced 1947, published 1952) is O’Neill’s last completed play and a sequel of sorts to Long Day’s Journey into Night. Jamie Tyrone (the older brother from Long Day’s Journey) is now a dissipated alcoholic living on a Connecticut farm, where he finds temporary peace in the arms of the tenant farmer’s enormous, warm-hearted daughter, Josie Hogan. The play is O’Neill’s most tender work — a moonlit night of confession and forgiveness between two damaged people. Jason Robards’s performances in the role made it a staple of the American repertoire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this really a sequel to Long Day’s Journey? In effect, yes — Jamie Tyrone is the same character (based on O’Neill’s brother James Jr.), now further along in his destruction by alcohol and guilt. The play gives Jamie the compassion that Long Day’s Journey could not quite manage.