Misery
Novelist Paul Sheldon has plans to make the difficult transition from writing historical romances featuring heroine Misery Chastain to publishing literary fiction. Annie Wilkes, Sheldon's number one fan, rescues the author from the scene of a car accident. The former nurse takes care of him in her remote house, but becomes irate when she discovers that the author has killed Misery off in his latest book. Annie keeps Sheldon prisoner while forcing him to write a book that brings Misery back to life.
Also by Stephen King
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What you might want to know about Misery
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Bestselling romance writer Paul Sheldon crashes his car in a Colorado blizzard. His rescuer, Annie Wilkes, is a former nurse and a devoted fan. She has read his last book and she is not happy about how he ended it.
Yes. Rob Reiner directed a 1990 film adaptation starring Kathy Bates and James Caan. Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress, the only acting Oscar from a Stephen King adaptation.
Yes. Misery is widely cited as one of Stephen King's most genuinely terrifying novels, despite being grounded in real-world horror rather than the supernatural. The Annie Wilkes character is one of his most memorable creations.
Misery was written by Stephen King, published in 1987 by Lgf.
Misery is 382 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Misery takes most readers 6 to 8 hours to finish.
Misery is a standalone novel by Stephen King, not part of a series.
Misery is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
