''Thy Neighbor's Wife'' is a non-fiction book by

Gay Talese Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire'' magazine during the 1960s, Talese helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with ...

, published in 1981 and updated in 2009. The book is an exploration of sexuality in America from after World War II through the 1970s, with notable discussion of the

free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern ...

subculture. It provides a snapshot of liberated pre- AIDS sexual morality. In preparation for writing the book, Talese resided for several months at clothing-optional resort Sandstone Retreat. In 1979, prior to the book's publication,

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

purchased the film rights to ''Thy Neighbor's Wife'' for $2.5 million, which at the time was the largest amount ever paid for film rights to any book. At the time, UA contemplated making as many as three films based on the book, and in 1980,

William Friedkin William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the " New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in ...

agreed to write and direct the first film, which he contemplated would receive an

X rating An X rating is a rating used in various countries to classify films that have content deemed suitable only for adults. It is used when the violent or sexual content of a film is considered to be potentially disturbing to general audiences. Aust ...

. However, as of 2023, no film has been made.See , discussing the fact that the film had not been made as of 1991.

References

External links

The Life and Loves of Gay Talese
discussion of the work and its author from

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

. 1981 non-fiction books Works by Gay Talese Non-fiction books about sexuality Doubleday (publisher) books English-language books {{sex-book-stub