What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? [Paperback]

Henry Farrell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 21, 1993

Book jacket: Baby Jane, a child star of early vaudeville, resented having to grow up in the shadow of her prettier sister Blanche Hudson, who became Hollywood's reigning love goddess. Now, some fifty years later, they are together and alone. And reality has toppled crazily into eerie fantasy. Blanche now finds she is growing old in the shadow cast by Baby Jane -- and a very sinister shadow it is.

Product Details

• Paperback: 245 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (January 21, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881847259
• ISBN-13: 978-0881847253
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #971,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Fiction, especially for fans of the film, July 21, 2003

By 

Nelson Aspen "Author/Journalist" (Los Angeles & NYC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Paperback)

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!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Know The Movie, You Should Read The Book, January 3, 2002

By 

michael t hearn (new york, new york) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (Paperback)

The two most interesting things about the novel are that
given the film's popularity the book has been out of print for
so long and that it demonstrates how ingeniously the filmmakers
used the components to create a film that stands on its own.
For nowhere in the novel are the descriptions of Jane or Blanche
in any way representative of Bette Davis or Joan Crawford. To
be sure, the key elements are here--the vaudeville prologue,
the rat and the parakeet, the relationship between Edwin Flagg
and his mother, the dance on the beach at closing--but the novel
has 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 serioiusly
and is rather dark and frank about the physical abuse of Blanche
by Jane that at the time must have been shocking. Of course
what made the story shocking is something we know now all too
well--that aberrations of all sort take place behind closed doors
with neighbors unaware--and while the baroqueness of the setting
and the characters lives are the stuff of which ficiton is made,
the abuse factor gives 'Baby Jane' its one salient point of
credibility. Those fascinated by the film will learn much
by reading the novel.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Know The Movie, You Should Read The Book, January 3, 2002

By 

michael t hearn (new york, new york) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (Paperback)

The two most interesting things about the novel are that
given the film's popularity the book has been out of print for
so long and that it demonstrates how ingeniously the filmmakers
used the components to create a film that stands on its own.
For nowhere in the novel are the descriptions of Jane or Blanche
in any way representative of Bette Davis or Joan Crawford. To
be sure, the key elements are here--the vaudeville prologue,
the rat and the parakeet, the relationship between Edwin Flagg
and his mother, the dance on the beach at closing--but the novel
has 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 serioiusly
and is rather dark and frank about the physical abuse of Blanche
by Jane that at the time must have been shocking. Of course
what made the story shocking is something we know now all too
well--that aberrations of all sort take place behind closed doors
with neighbors unaware--and while the baroqueness of the setting
and the characters lives are the stuff of which ficiton is made,
the abuse factor gives 'Baby Jane' its one salient point of
credibility. Those fascinated by the film will learn much
by reading the novel.