Misery (novel)

''Misery'' is a psychological horror novel by US author Stephen King, first published by Viking Press on June 8, 1987.

The novel hinges on the relationship between its two main characters – novelist Paul Sheldon and his self-proclaimed number one fan Annie Wilkes. When Sheldon is seriously injured following a car accident, former nurse Annie rescues him and keeps him prisoner in her isolated farmhouse.

''Misery'', which took fourth place in the 1987 bestseller list, was adapted into an Academy Award–winning film directed by Rob Reiner, in 1990, and into a theatrical production starring Laurie Metcalf and Bruce Willis in 2015.

Background

The novel's title refers to the eponymous heroine of Sheldon's book series, as well as King's state of mind during the writing of the novel. King outlined the creation of ''Misery'' in his memoirs, and mentioned that the character of Annie Wilkes came to him in a dream. The book was originally to be released under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, but King's identity was discovered before the book's release.

One of King's inspirations for ''Misery'' was the reaction his fans had to his 1984 novel '' The Eyes of the Dragon''. Many fans rejected ''The Eyes of the Dragon'' because it was an epic fantasy book, with virtually none of the horror that initially made his reputation. Paul Sheldon's feeling of being chained to the ''Misery'' books by his fans was an expression of King's feelings towards horror fiction. Another element was King's addiction to drugs and alcohol, and his struggle to get sober. He stated: "Annie was my drug problem, and she was my number-one fan."
When further addressing the idea of whether Sheldon was a self-portrait, King stated: "Certain ''parts'' of him are ... but I think you will find that, if you continue to write fiction, every character you create is partly you."

King has also attributed the origin of the story to a dream he had while on a trans-Atlantic flight to London. He wrote the idea on an American Airlines cocktail napkin when he woke up so he could make sure to remember it, writing: "She speaks earnestly but never quite makes eye contact. A big woman and solid all through; she is an absence of hiatus. 'I wasn't trying to be funny in a mean way when I named my pig Misery, no sir. Please don't think that. No, I named her in the spirit of fan love, which is the purest love there is. You should be flattered.'"King (2000) pp. 165–167

King and his wife, Tabitha King, stayed in London's Brown's Hotel, where he wrote "sixteen pages of a steno notebook". The concierge let him work at a desk once owned by Rudyard Kipling, who had died of a stroke while using it. King thought that the book would only be around 30,000 words, but it ended up being almost four times that at 370 pages. Its working title was ''The Annie Wilkes Edition''. While discussing the pros and cons of pre-plotting novels, King mentioned that he had originally planned for Annie to force her prisoner to write a book, which she would then bind in Paul's skin. When commenting on why he chose not to go down that route, King said:

... it would have made a pretty good story...but that wasn't the way things eventually went. Paul Sheldon turned out to be a good deal more resourceful than I initially thought, and his efforts to play Scheherazade and save his life gave me a chance to say some things about the redemptive power of writing that I had long felt but never articulated. Annie also turned out to be more complex than I'd first imagined her, and she was great fun to write about ..."

Plot

Paul Sheldon is the author of a best-selling series of historical romance novels featuring the character of Misery Chastain. These books have made his name, but he dreams of literary recognition. Having completed ''Misery's Child'', in which the main character dies, he now hopes to step away from Misery forever. In a Colorado hotel, he finishes the manuscript for a new novel, ''Fast Cars'', which he hopes will receive literary acclaim and celebrates. Instead of flying back home to New York City, Paul decides on a drunken whim to drive to Los Angeles to deliver the manuscript to his agent by hand. He is caught in a blizzard and crashes his car near the small, remote town of Sidewinder, Colorado.

Paul awakens, severely injured and in pain, to find that he has been rescued by Annie Wilkes, a former nurse who is a devoted ''Misery'' fan. Refusing to take him to the hospital, she nurses him herself, and treats his pain with codeine-based painkillers. Paul quickly becomes addicted to a medication named Novril, which Annie uses to threaten and manipulate him. She begins reading the recently published ''Misery's Child,'' and elicits Paul's permission to read the ''Fast Cars'' manuscript, but disapproves of the darker subject matter and profanity. Paul understands that Annie is mentally unstable: she is prone to trailing off into catatonic episodes and has sudden, unpredictable bouts of rage. When she reads of Misery's death, Annie leaves Paul alone in her house for over two days, deprived of food, water, and painkillers. During this time, Paul examines his legs and sees that they have been badly broken in the crash.

Upon Annie's return, she forces a weakened Paul to burn the ''Fast Cars'' manuscript in exchange for painkillers. She sets up an office for Paul – consisting of an antique Royal 10 typewriter with a non-functional N-key, writing paper, and a wheelchair – for the purpose of writing a new ''Misery'' novel to revive the dead character. Paul begins a new novel, ''Misery's Return'', and allows Annie to read the work in progress and fill in the missing N's. As Paul writes, the text includes excerpts of ''Misery's Return'', a macabre story in which it is revealed that Misery was accidentally buried alive.

On several occasions, Paul escapes his room in his wheelchair, searching for more painkillers and exploring the house. He discovers a scrapbook containing newspaper clippings, which reveal Annie as a serial killer; her victims include a neighboring family, her father, roommate, and, during her career as a head nurse, a number of elderly or critically injured patients and eleven infants. He learns that the infant deaths resulted in Annie standing trial in Denver, although she was acquitted. When Annie discovers that Paul has been leaving his room, she punishes him by cutting off his foot with an axe and "hobbling" him.

Months later, Paul remains Annie's captive. After complaining about more broken typewriter keys, Paul, who fears that Annie means to kill him as soon as the story is told, refuses to reveal the ending. Annie then severs his thumb with an electric knife. When a state trooper searching for Paul arrives at the house, Annie murders him by running him down with a riding lawnmower. She hides the remains, but the trooper's disappearance draws media and law enforcement attention. Annie relocates Paul to the basement, but Paul understands that she does not mean to let him live.

Finally Paul finishes ''Misery's Return''. While Annie arranges a celebration, Paul tricks her into believing that he has burnt the manuscript. A fight ensues: Paul hits Annie with the typewriter, escapes the bedroom and locks Annie inside before contacting the police. Annie is found dead from her injuries, having escaped to the barn to find a chainsaw.

''Misery's Return'' becomes an international bestseller, partly due to the dramatic circumstances under which it was written. Paul resists the suggestion to write a nonfiction account of his own experiences. He learns to walk with a prosthesis but still struggles with nightmares about Annie coming after him, and suffers from withdrawal from painkillers, alcoholism and writer's block. When Paul finally finds inspiration to write a new story, he weeps, mourning his shattered life, but also in joy at finally being able to write again.

Reception

''Misery'' won the first Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel in 1987 and was nominated for the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. It received largely positive reviews and reached Number 4 on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list. ''The Guardian'' called it: "one of the greatest thrillers ever written". ''Kirkus Reviews'' praised its dark humour and relative leanness, saying: "...this nasty shard of a novel with its weird autobiographical implications probably will thrill and chill King's legion of fans."

Adaptations

Film

The novel was adapted into a film in 1990, directed by Rob Reiner and written by William Goldman. James Caan and Kathy Bates starred as Paul Sheldon and Annie Wilkes, with Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen in supporting roles. The film was a critical and commercial success, and continues to be ranked as one of the best Stephen King adaptations. For her performance as Annie Wilkes, Kathy Bates won the 1991 Academy Award for Best Actress – one of the few Oscar wins for a performance in the horror genre, and the first for any King adaptation – and was launched into mainstream stardom. In June 2003, the American Film Institute included Annie Wilkes, as played by Bates, in their "100 Heroes and Villains" list, ranking her as the 17th most iconic villain (and sixth most iconic villainess) in the history of film.

Television

A version of Annie Wilkes, portrayed by Lizzy Caplan, is the main character of the second season of '' Castle Rock''. The season finale concludes with Annie attending a book signing for a ''Misery'' novel by Paul Sheldon.

Stage

The novel was also adapted into a play by Simon Moore. The play premiered in London at the Criterion Theater in December 1992, starring Sharon Gless and Bill Paterson and directed by Moore. The play, directed by Alan Cohen, was revived in 2005 at the King's Head Theatre in London, starring Michael Praed and Susan Penhaligon. In 2014, Dutch composer and theater producer Florus van Rooijen adapted the novel into a "feel bad" musical.

A different play written by William Goldman (who also wrote the film's screenplay) and directed by Will Frears opened on Broadway in 2015 for a limited engagement. The play starred Bruce Willis as Paul Sheldon and Laurie Metcalf as Annie Wilkes. It opened in October 2015 and closed on February 16, 2016. For her performance as Wilkes, Metcalf was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The play was originally premiered in 2012 at Bucks County Playhouse before moving to Broadway. This new version is not connected to the earlier adaptation by Simon Moore.

In October 2019, a Finnish play adaptation of ''Misery'' called ''Piina'' was performed at the Tampere Theatre in Tampere, Finland. The play was directed by Antti Mikkola and starring Esa Latva-Äijö as Paul Sheldon and Mari Turunen as Annie Wilkes. Also in September of the same year, Kuopio City Theatre in Kuopio, Finland, presented another interpretation under the name ''Piina'', directed by Olli-Matti Oinonen and starring Seppo Pääkkönen as Paul Sheldon and Henna Haverinen as Annie Wilkes. In November 2022, Pori Theatre in Pori, Finland presented third interpretation, directed by Tuomo Aitta and starring Vesa Haltsonen as Paul Sheldon and Mirva Tolppanen as Annie Wilkes. An upcoming fourth play of the Seinäjoki City Theatre in Seinäjoki will premiere in February 2025, and it will be directed by Olli-Matti Oinonen (who previously directed the play at the Kuopio Theatre) and starring Satu Silvo as Annie Wilkes and Reidar Palmgren as Paul Sheldon.

Radio

Moore's stage adaptation was itself adapted for radio and broadcast on the BBC World Service. The program was produced by Dirk Maggs, directed by Marion Nancarrow and starred Nicholas Farrell as Paul Sheldon and Miriam Margolyes as Annie Wilkes. The program was later released on CD by the BBC.

References

External links

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Official Website for the play

Misery
at Worlds Without End.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Misery (Novel)
1987 American novels
1980s horror novels
American horror novels
American psychological novels
American thriller novels
Psychological thriller novels
Metafictional novels
Medical novels
Psychological horror
Novels set in Boulder, Colorado
Novels about writers
Novels about fandom
Novels about mental health
Novels about bipolar disorder
Novels about serial killers
Books featuring nurses
American novels adapted into films
Horror novels adapted into films
American novels adapted for radio
American novels adapted into plays
Bram Stoker Award for Novel winners
Novels by Stephen King
Viking Press books