''Rosemary's Baby'' is a 1967

horror novel Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defi ...

by American writer

Ira Levin Ira Marvin Levin (August 27, 1929 – November 12, 2007) was an American novelist, playwright, and songwriter. His works include the novels '' A Kiss Before Dying'' (1953), '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1967), '' The Stepford Wives'' (1972), '' This Perf ...

; it was his second published book. It was the best-selling horror novel of the 1960s, selling over four million copies. The high popularity of the novel was a catalyst for a "horror boom", and horror fiction would achieve enormous commercial success in its wake.

Plot

The book centers on Rosemary Woodhouse, a young woman who moves into the Bramford, a historic Gothic Revival-style

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

apartment building, with her husband, Guy, a struggling actor. Guy has so far appeared only in small roles in the stage plays '' Luther,'' '' Nobody Loves an Albatross,'' and various TV commercials. A friend warns the pair that the Bramford has a disturbing history involving

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

and murder, but they discount this. Rosemary wants to start a family, but Guy prefers waiting until his career is more established. Neighbors Minnie and Roman Castevet, an eccentric, elderly couple, welcome Rosemary and Guy to the Bramford. Rosemary finds them meddlesome and annoying, but Guy begins frequently visiting them. After the lead actor in a new stage play suddenly goes blind, Guy is cast in the role. Immediately afterward, Guy unexpectedly agrees with Rosemary that they should have their first child. That night, Rosemary dreams of a rough sexual encounter with a huge, inhuman creature with yellow eyes. The next morning Rosemary finds claw marks on her breasts and groin, which Guy dismisses as resulting from his

hangnail A hangnail is a small piece of skin or nail next to a fingernail or toenail. Hangnails are typically caused by having dry skin, trauma to the fingers, or ingrown nails. Complications Hangnails can become infected and cause paronychia, a type ...

, which he has cut. Rosemary subsequently learns that she is pregnant. Rosemary falls severely ill; but her intense pain and weight loss are ignored by others and attributed to

hysteria Hysteria is a term used to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, female hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that the bas ...

. Her doctor and Minnie feed her strange and foul concoctions. Rosemary also develops a peculiar craving for raw meat. Guy's performance in the play garners favorable notices, and other increasingly significant roles follow. Guy soon begins talking about a career in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. Rosemary's friend, Edward "Hutch" Hutchins, also becomes mysteriously ill. He had sent Rosemary a warning, leading to her discovery that Roman Castevet is the leader of a Satanic

coven A coven () is a group or gathering of Witchcraft, witches. The word "coven" (from Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman ''covent, cuvent'', from Old French ''covent'', from Latin ''conventum'' = convention) remained largely unused in English lan ...

. She suspects her unborn baby is wanted as a sacrifice to the

devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

. Despite her growing conviction, she is unable to convince anyone, particularly Guy. Ultimately, Rosemary discovers the coven's real intent for wanting her baby, whom she names Andrew.

Critical reception

Cherry Wilder wrote that "''Rosemary's Baby'' is one of the most perfectly crafted thrillers ever written". Horror scholar Gary Crawford described ''Rosemary's Baby'' as "a genuine masterpiece".

David Pringle David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of '' Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective whi ...

described ''Rosemary's Baby'' as "this sly, seductive impeccably-written horror novel ... is an expertly constructed story, a playwright's book, in which every physical detail and line of dialogue counts."

Sequel

Thirty years later Levin published a sequel to the novel, titled '' Son of Rosemary'' (1997). Levin dedicated it to

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place'' and gained further recogn ...

Censorship

''Rosemary's Baby'' was published in Spanish translation during the

Francoist dictatorship Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. The Francoist censors cut passages from this translation, claiming the cut passages "glorified Satan". As of April 2019, all the Spanish-language editions of the book still retain these cuts.

Adaptations

In 1968, the novel was adapted as a film of the same name, starring

, with

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

as Guy. Ruth Gordon, who played Minnie Castevet, won an

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

, who wrote and directed the film, was nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. The exterior shots of the fictional Bramford apartment were filmed at

the Dakota The Dakota, also known as the Dakota Apartments, is a Housing cooperative, cooperative apartment building at 1 West 72nd Street (Manhattan), 72nd Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The Dakota was constru ...

on Central Park West in New York. A

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

sequel to the Polanski film, '' Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby'', was produced in 1976. In 2014, the novel was adapted as an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television miniseries, with

Zoe Saldaña Zoë Yadira Saldaña-Perego ( , ; ; born June 19, 1978) is an American actress. Known primarily for her work in science fiction film franchises, she has starred in four of the seven List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing films of al ...

as Rosemary. The two-part miniseries aired on

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

of that year.Miniseries 'Rosemary's Baby' To Air May 11 and May 15 on NBC
Accessed September 8, 2022. Neither the TV sequel nor the TV miniseries garnered critical acclaim.

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

produced a prequel titled '' Apartment 7A'', starring Julia Garner and

Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986's ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994's '' Bullets Over Broadway'' (both directed by Woody Allen), one Gold ...

References

External links

Official entry
at IraLevin.org
"Rosemary's Baby Album" (in-depth visual feature about novel's creation on Ira Levin's website)Photos of the first edition of ''Rosemary's Baby''
{{Rosemary's Baby 1967 American novels 1960s horror novels American horror novels Novels set in New York City Fiction set in 1965 Fiction set in 1966 Novels set in the 1960s Novels about actors Novels about cults Novels about demons Novels about human pregnancy Novels about marriage Novels about Satanism Novels about witches and witchcraft Novels about the Antichrist Fiction about the Devil Religious controversies in literature Censored books Censorship in Spain American novels adapted into films Horror novels adapted into films American novels adapted into television shows Books with cover art by Paul Bacon Novels by Ira Levin Rosemary's Baby (franchise) Random House books