Night of January 16th. by Rand, Ayn - 1968

New York and Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1968. First edition of this play by Ayn Rand. Octavo, original cloth. Inscribed and dated in the year of publication by Ayn Rand on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with a few small closed tears. Uncommon signed. Night of January 16th is a theatrical play by Ayn Rand, inspired by the death of the "Match King", Ivar Kreuger. Set in a courtroom during a murder trial, an unusual feature of the play is that members of the audience are chosen to play the jury. The court hears the case of Karen Andre, a former secretary and lover of businessman Bjorn Faulkner, of whose murder she is accused. The play does not directly portray the events leading to Faulkner's death; instead the jury must rely on character testimony to decide whether Andre is guilty. The play's ending depends on the verdict. Rand's intention was to dramatize a conflict between individualism and conformity, with the jury's verdict revealing which viewpoint they preferred.