What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

by Henry Farrell

Book Overview

The chilling novel that inspired the iconic film starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

As seen on the FX series Feud: Bette and Joan, which chronicles the rivalry between the Hollywood stars during their filming of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

The neighbors all whisper about the two sisters who live on the hill: It's Blanche Hudson who lives in that house, you know. The Blanche Hudson, who starred in big Hollywood...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1455546755
• ISBN13: 9781455546756
• Release Date: October 2013
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

From Novel To Screen

This Book Is For Fans Who What To Know What The Movie Was Based On..

Great Find

I loved the movie & the book is very true to the movie. If you loved the movie you'll love the book.

Wow - What A THRILLER !

This book reads like a dream. The language flows effortlessly and the imagery of even the simplest scenes creates vivid pictures in your mind. It is a psychological tale, yet the pages turn like a mystery. The two main characters are sisters Jane and Blanche. Both past middle age, lamenting the loss of their youth and the personal injustices life has befallen them. Blanche is crippled and at the mercy of Jane - wonderfully delusional and unbalanced. The terror mounts as matters get slowly but progressively dark, as Jane spirals into a deranged world. Jane reminds me of a sinister child in many ways... selfish, cruel, spiteful and completely delusional. And like a child - actions have no consequence, feelings are flippant and opinions are made on a whim. A situation that is a living hell for Blanche, crippled in her room cut off from all contact to the outside world. As Jane becomes increasingly unhinged, Blanche is subjected to the horrors of Jane's mind that manifect themselves in the most creative of psychological tortues. i.e There is an instance where Jane brings to Blanche's room her lunch tray, and leaving it pointedly covered, exits the room. When Blanche uncovers her lunch tray and settles in to eat... "She saw now what she had not seen before; the entire meal had been carefully sprinkled over with fine, white sand." And therein, the chapter ends. It leaves you to ponder the mental state of a person who would prepare a delightful meal, deliver it on a silver tray and go to the effort of painstakingly covering it with sand. Horror? No... but that's just the beginning... Clearly, the reader sides with Blanche and waits with baited breath to see her escape, yet Jane is at times portrayed achingly real. You find yourself empathising with this sad, disturbed, fragile creature. Having seen the movie, i can say in this instance the book and movie complement eachother. Both offering different things, both fabulous!

Fascinating Fiction, especially for fans of the film

Film fans who love the movie version will enjoy the book on which it was based, but should be prepared for how very different the novel is. Readers will see what an arduous task it was to adapt as a screenplay...and what a commendable job they (and the director & stars) did, as well. Since virutally no one nowadays will read the book first, it serves as an interesting character study into the psychology of the Jane and Blanche characters. And if anyone saw the ghastly TV movie remake starring the Redgrave sisters and John Glover, you will hope they hold on tightly to the novel and leave well enough alone!!

If You Know The Movie, You Should Read The Book

The two most interesting things about the novel are thatgiven the film's popularity the book has been out of print forso long and that it demonstrates how ingeniously the filmmakersused the components to create a film that stands on its own.For nowhere in the novel are the descriptions of Jane or Blanchein any way representative of Bette Davis or Joan Crawford. Tobe sure, the key elements are here--the vaudeville prologue,the rat and the parakeet, the relationship between Edwin Flaggand his mother, the dance on the beach at closing--but the novelhas very little dialogue and none of the film's wit. Readers waiting to read Baby Jane saying "But ya are, Blanche, ya are!"will be sorely disappointed. The novel takes itself serioiuslyand is rather dark and frank about the physical abuse of Blancheby Jane that at the time must have been shocking. Of course what made the story shocking is something we know now all toowell--that aberrations of all sort take place behind closed doorswith neighbors unaware--and while the baroqueness of the settingand the characters lives are the stuff of which ficiton is made,the abuse factor gives 'Baby Jane' its one salient point ofcredibility. Those fascinated by the film will learn much by reading the novel.

WE STILL LOVE YOU BABY JANE !!!!

I absolutely loved baby jane it was such a great book nomatter how bad it was lol. i love the movie also and its soooo hard to find that soundtrack i love that hip song they play when blanche is trying to throw the letter out the window it was hilarious baby jane is one of the all time best thrillers !