The Bridges of Madison County
 1st edition | |
| Author | Robert James Waller |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Warner Books, Inc. |
Publication date | 1992 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 192 pp |
| ISBN | 0-446-51652-X |
| OCLC | 24246926 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3573.A4347 B75 1992 |
| Followed by | A Thousand Country Roads |
The Bridges of Madison County is a 1992 best-selling novel by Robert James Waller which tells the story of a married but lonely Italian woman, living in 1960s Madison County, Iowa, who engages in an affair with a National Geographic photographer from Bellingham, Washington who is visiting Madison County in order to create a photographic essay on the covered bridges in the area. The novel is presented as a novelization of a true story, but it is in fact entirely fictional. However, the author has stated in an interview that there are strong similarities between the main character and himself.[1]
The novel is one of the bestselling books of the 20th century, with 50 million copies sold worldwide.
Publication history
It was originally published in the UK under the title Love in Black and White.[2][3]
An epilogue entitled A Thousand Country Roads was published in 2002. It tells the remainder of the two main characters' story after their four-day affair. They never meet again, but their lives are interlocked until death.
Reception
The San Francisco Chronicle praised the novel as "lyrical..sensuous and sensitive..a tale of lasting love", while Entertainment Weekly called it "a short, poignant story, moving precisely because it has the ragged edges of reality".[4]
Other reviewers criticized the novel as sentimental slush: featuring “contrived, unrealistic dialog,” and a “trite” storyline.[5]
The book debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in August 1992, and slowly climbed to number 1 as the book [6] and remained on the list for over three years (164 consecutive weeks), through October 8, 1995.[7]
The Bridges of Madison County currently has an average of 3.1 stars on Amazon.com, indicating mixed reviews.
Film adaptation
The Bridges of Madison County was made into a 1995 film of the same name, adapted by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Eastwood and Meryl Streep.
Musical adaptation
The Bridges of Madison County[8] is currently being adapted into a Musical, which will play its world premier at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in August 2013.
"The Bridges of Madison County" will feature music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown, and a book by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwright Marsha Norman. When the show premiers in Williamstown, MA in August 2013, it will be directed by Tony Award winning director Bartlett Sher. This production will reunite him with the the creative team he worked on the 2008 Tony Award winning revival of South Pacific (musical). The team consists of Tony Award winning scenic designer Michael Yeargan, costume design by Catherine Zuber, and lighting design by Donald Holder. Sound Design will be by Jon Weston.
The Production is slated to transfer to Broadway in 2014. The Bridges of Madison County (musical) will begin previews on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre beginning January 20, 2014, and is scheduled to have an opening night sometime in late February of 2014. The production will be produced by Jeffrey Richards, Stacey Mindich, and Jerry Frankel. They will be joined by Tulchin Bartner Productions, Jay & Cindy Gutterman and Cathy Chernoff, Scott M. Delman, Aaron Priest, Red Mountain Theatre Company, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Bellanca Smigel Rutter, Will Trice, and The Shubert Organization.
References
- ^ Transcript of interview with Robert James Waller at http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/thousand_country_roads2.asp#bio, retrieved 4 Feb, 2008
- ^ Love in Black and White, hardcover, Sinclair-Stevenson, 1992.
- ^ Love in Black and White, paperback, Mandarin, 1993.
- ^ Klepp, L.S. "BOOK REVIEW: The Bridges of Madison County" June 12, 1992.
- ^ http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=bridges-of-madison-county-book
- ^ Lyall, Sarah (28 July 1993). Book Notes: A Big Year for 'Bridges', The New York Times
- ^ (8 October 1995). Best Seller List, The New York Times
- ^ http://bridgesofmadisoncountymusical.com/
External links
- Study of reader response to the novel
- 20th-Century American Bestsellers entry
- Analysis of The Bridges of Madison County on Lit React
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