We Have Always Lived in the Castle: A Melodrama in Three Acts

by Hugh Wheeler, Shirley Jackson (Source Material)

Based on the bestselling novel by Shirley Jackson. Produced on Broadway, this gripping play spins out a tale of suspense and mystery which will hold audiences enthralled right up to the final, shocking moments. "…Shirley Jackson's stories have been regarded as modern classics of terror." —NY Post. "A tale of muted horror…it's a compelling story and it takes well to the stage." —NY World Journal Tribune.

Genres: Plays

Paperback

Published January 1, 1967

About the author

Hugh Callingham Wheeler was a British novelist, screenwriter, librettist, poet and translator. He resided in the United States from 1934 until his death and became a naturalized citizen in 1942. He had attended London University.

Under the noms de plume Patrick Quentin, Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge, Wheeler was the author or co-author of many mystery novels and short stories. In 1963, his 1961 collection, The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow was given a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. He won the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical in 1973 and 1974 for his books for the musicals A Little Night Music and Candide, and won both again in 1979 for his book for Sweeney Todd.

Reviews

[Kevin]

This book really made me think about how these days you can be ostracized or cancelled if you don't fit in or subscribe to the beliefs and moors of others. Oh yeah, and don't feel like society'll give you a pass if something odd happens to your family....🤘

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many layers in this book. It definitely leaves you with questions and thoughts. I didn’t see that at first, but working backstage really let me hear the tale over and over. Once is not enough to truly understand this play.

[Maddy Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, so good. Really fucking depressing, but really good.

[Lazy Gardener · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure genius.

[Florence Mayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read a similar book

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The previous review of this play seems a little harsh to me. This is a good play, one that deserves to be produced. It would make a nice addition to the repertoire of dark comedy and horror that graces the stages of local theaters.

It concerns a wealthy family whose survivors are shunned by the local community when several of their members are poisoned. The eldest daughter was accused of the poisoning but ultimately acquitted. Still, she's a little bit damaged and still under suspicion. Her younger sister provides the spirit and spark to keep the family afloat, but lives in a bit of a dream world. Uncle Julian survived the poisoning, but is in a wheelchair and suffers from dementia. Everything is unclear though: Did Constance really commit the murder? Who's crazy and who isn't in the family? Are the townspeople cruel and judgmental or are they justified in shunning the Blackwoods? Things are even more complicated when a distant cousin returns: is he there to scam the family for money or does he truly intend to lead them to a better future?

Is it as good as Shirley Jackson's original? Probably not. It's condensed a little, particularly the descriptive passages that allow mood to slowly build in the book, but the stage doesn't have time for that luxury. But the real question is does it work on stage. Wheeler adds an extra character so Merricat has someone to talk to, since most of her talk in the book is with imaginary friends. The townspeople aren't nearly as present and the climax of the story is very different indeed. But still, there's a nice twist ending, plenty of atmosphere, and a good dose of comedy mixed into all of the horrible events.

Personally, I'd love to see a production of this, and might consider taking it on as a director at some point. The core of Jackson's story is rich enough to support alternate endings and Wheeler brings it ably to the stage.

[staykind · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fantastic story with a touch of the macabre.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very quick read. One of my book clubs read this book. I missed the discussion, and the book came into the library well after the meeting. But I decided to read it anyway. It is a disturbing book, and I figured out the "who done it" before the big reveal, which made it a lot less intriguing. I was disappointed that it wasn't really explained why except that obviously these two people are crazy! Mary Katherine is just plain crazy, and Constance is stuck with her and isolated, so I think that makes here a little loopy too. I think there could have been more to the story but maybe that is the whole point. It is from Mary Katherine's point of view, and the holes are because she is telling it and she is insane. So the reader is left to imagine things, which makes it kind of freaky. But I did like it. I liked it because it was short, the plot was fascinating, the two main characters were interesting, and it made me think about all of those tall tales and rumors I heard as a kid about people and events that happened around my small town. I wish I hadn't believed and fed into them. The villagers were so ridiculous, but not far from the truth. I like a book that makes me think about myself and how I want to be or not be. It also seems like the kind of book that holds secret details one might find if they read it more than once. Interesting...

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wheeler's adaptation of Jackson's excellent and under appreciated novel of the same name takes large liberties with the story, including the addition of a new character, but successfully captures the tone and strangeness of Jackson's tale of two sisters united in the aftermath of the murder of their family. Though it's disappointing that Wheeler has a slightly more conventional perspective on Merricat (she's pretty much a straight up bad seed in this version), Wheeler never-the-less throws some delightfully gruesome twists into the plot, including an act two closer that is horrifying and sad at the same time, and he sketches out a romance between Constance and Charles that while a far cry from what it is in the novel, is still compelling storytelling well rendered and written. The ending leaves us in much the same place as the book, though without the storming of the manor by the villagers, and without a sense of redemption, so it's a dark, dark, dark play- but a good one, if you can let go of the source material it's based on and accept it on its own merits.

[Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand that when a story is told through different mediums, it must take on different aspects and must be shown in different lights. However, this play is pretty grossly untrue to a lot of the best and most central pieces of Shirley Jackson's original iteration of the story. Merricat lost her role as the narrator-protagonist, which keeps the audience/reader from attaching to her to the degree necessary to really appreciate the ending, and it costs the story the mystery that comes with having so unreliable a narrator. The focus on Charles and the reality/rationality he pushes is uninteresting, unnecessary, and detrimental.

I'd love to see a theatrical adaptation of We Have Always Lived In The Castle that really explored how the magic of theatre, which already requires the audience to suspend their disbelief and accept a different set of rules for reality, can represent the strange little world Merricat lives in. This isn't that.

[Todd Glaeser · Rating 1 out of 5]

This adaption misses the one thing that made the book special, MOOD. Imagine a 60's TV version; Peyton Place not Dark Shadows. It's not a gothic horror - it's a melodrama. Everyone is just so ordinary.Every character and motivation has been changed including Merricat. The only good thing is that reading it might be the impetus I need to write my own adaption.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the audiobook, performed by Bernadette Dunne.

[Anna Beauregard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dark and odd - not in a good way. I kept waiting for something interesting or dramatic to happen.