The Witches of Eastwick - Wikipedia The Witches of Eastwick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search This article is about the John Updike novel. For other uses, see The Witches of Eastwick (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Witches of East End. Novel by John Updike The Witches of Eastwick First edition cover Author John Updike Country United States Language English Genre Fantasy Publisher Knopf Publication date April 12, 1984 Media type Print (hardback & paperback) Pages 320 ISBN 0-394-53760-2 OCLC 10183130 Dewey Decimal 813/.54 19 LC Class PS3571.P4 W5 1984 Followed by The Widows of Eastwick  The Witches of Eastwick is a 1984 novel by American writer John Updike. A sequel, The Widows of Eastwick, was published in 2008. Contents 1 Plot 2 Literary significance and criticism 3 In other media 3.1 Film 3.2 Television 3.3 Musical 4 References Plot[edit] The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the late 1960s, follows the witches Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont, who acquired their powers after leaving or being left by their husbands (although Alexandra is a widow). Their coven is upset by the arrival of Darryl Van Horne, who buys a neglected mansion outside of town. The mysterious Darryl seduces each of the women, encouraging their creative powers and creating a scandal in the town. The power of the three witches grows, so much so that they unknowingly bewitch the townsfolk they come in contact with. This becomes clear when Sukie's lover and boss, Clyde Gabriel, kills his busybody wife Felicia before hanging himself. The three women share Darryl in relative peace until he unexpectedly marries their young, innocent friend, Jenny, the Gabriels' daughter. The witches resolve to take revenge by giving her cancer through their magic. Although Alexandra feels remorse for their hex, the spell kills Jenny and Darryl flees town with her younger brother, Chris, apparently his lover. In his wake, he leaves their relationships strained and their sense of self in doubt. Eventually, each summons her ideal man and leaves town. Literary significance and criticism[edit] Updike described his novel as "about female power, a power that patriarchal societies have denied." Many scholars viewed it as strongly pro-feminist, "an intelligent engagement with feminism, and a rare case of a male novelist writing from women's points of view." [1] Some have expressed concern that the book may be misogynistic, as it seems to reinforce the patriarchal conceptions of women as witches and of women requiring a man for personal growth; others believe that the book may be more of a satire of such ideas.[2] At the same time, there were those who praised the novel as a departure from Updike's previous novels.[1] In other media[edit] Film[edit] Main article: The Witches of Eastwick (film) In 1987, the novel was adapted into a film starring Jack Nicholson as Darryl, Cher as Alexandra, Susan Sarandon as Jane, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Sukie – with considerable differences from the book's plot. The film's Oscar-nominated score was composed by John Williams. Television[edit] In 1992, a television series pilot aired that was directed by Rick Rosenthal and starred Michael Siberry as Darryl, Ally Walker as Alexandra, Julia Campbell as Jane, and Catherine Mary Stewart as Sukie. It was not picked up as a series. In 2002, a television series pilot was filmed based on the world created in the book, called simply Eastwick. It starred Jason O'Mara as Darryl, Marcia Cross as Jane, Kelly Rutherford as Alexandra, and Lori Loughlin as Sukie. It was not picked up as a series so only the pilot episode exists. In 2009, The Witches of Eastwick was adapted into a television series on ABC, this one entitled Eastwick, with Lindsay Price, Jaime Ray Newman and Rebecca Romijn as the three witches. Paul Gross played Darryl.[3] Veronica Cartwright who had played Felicia Alden in the 1987 movie is also in the cast of the series as Bun Waverly. The show was cancelled during its first season. Musical[edit] Main article: The Witches of Eastwick (musical) In 2000, the novel was adapted into a stage musical by John Dempsey and Dana P. Rowe. In 2002, The Witches of Eastwick musical opened in Australia, starring Paul McDermott as Darryl Van Horne, Marina Prior as Jane Smart, Pippa Grandison as Sukie Rougemont and Angela Toohey as Alexandra Spofford. In 2007, the stage musical had its American debut at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia.[4] References[edit] ^ a b LA Times "Bewitched again by John Updike" September 20, 2009 ^ Kiera Tara O'Brien. "The witching hour: Halloween chick flicks". Digs Magazine. Retrieved 2007-02-25. ^ [1] tvguide.com ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Witches of Eastwick—Skinner, Noll & Donovan—Sing in Revised U.S. Staging of Onetime London Musical". Playbill.com, June 15, 2007 v t e Selected works of John Updike Rabbit novels Rabbit, Run (1960) Rabbit Redux (1971) Rabbit Is Rich (1981) Rabbit at Rest (1990) Rabbit Remembered (2001) Eastwick books The Witches of Eastwick (1984) The Widows of Eastwick (2008) Other novels The Poorhouse Fair (1959) The Centaur (1963) Of the Farm (1965) Couples (1968) Marry Me: A Romance (1976) The Coup (1978) Roger's Version (1986) Memories of the Ford Administration (1992) Brazil (1994) In the Beauty of the Lilies (1996) Toward the End of Time (1997) Gertrude and Claudius (2000) Villages (2004) Terrorist (2006) Short story collections The Same Door (1959) Pigeon Feathers (1962) Olinger Stories (1964) Too Far to Go (1979) Trust Me (1987) The Early Stories (2003) My Father's Tears (2009) Poetry collections The Carpentered Hen (1958) Telephone Poles (1963) Settings and characters Henry Bech Brewer Adaptations Rabbit, Run Too Far to Go The Witches of Eastwick (film) The Witches of Eastwick (musical) Eastwick Authority control NKC: aun2010595037 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Witches_of_Eastwick&oldid=992997140" Categories: The Witches of Eastwick 1984 American novels 1984 fantasy novels American magic realism novels American fantasy novels adapted into films Novels by John Updike Alfred A. Knopf books Novels set in the 1960s Novels set in Rhode Island Witchcraft in written fiction American novels adapted into television shows Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages Čeština Deutsch Français Nederlands Edit links This page was last edited on 8 December 2020, at 06:29 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. 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