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Rosemary's Baby

The genre-defining classic that ushered in the era of modern horror

One of the best-selling books of all time, Rosemary's Baby is a foundational work of suspense and psychological horror which remains as powerful and chilling as the day it was written. Hailed by Truman Capote as a "darkly brilliant tale" and adapted with near-total fidelity into the monumental film starring Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes, Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby ushered in the era of contemporary horror as we know it, opening the floodgates to later works such as The Exorcist and The Omen. Levin ingeniously fused gothic literary tradition with modern-day New York, creating an enduring classic which the New York Times placed on its recent list of "The 25 Most Significant New York City Novels From the Last 100 Years."

Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling-actor husband Guy are thrilled to move into the Bramford, a sought-after Manhattan apartment building prized for its Victorian details and gargoyled facade. Yet as they learn of a darker side to the building's history--and become acquainted with their overly attentive neighbors, the Castevets--unspoken tensions enter into the young couples' relationship. Matters improve when Guy lands a major role, and Rosemary at last becomes pregnant. But as her pregnancy takes frightening turns, Rosemary begins to question if her neighbors' heightened interest is strictly innocent, or if their motivations--and those of Guy himself--portend terrifying consequences for her, and her unborn child. Is Rosemary "...going mad, or going sane"?

Foreword by Chuck Palahniuk.

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Published Oct 3, 2023

248 pages

Average rating: 7.73

102 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

CheriF
Sep 25, 2025
8/10 stars
I've changed my rating twice while typing out this review... My first thought was that I wanted to like it more than I did. I mean, the beginning was slow and boring but once it got going, I couldn't stop listening. Yes, it's from the 60s so there were plenty of patting the nice, young woman on the head and the husband laying down the law, and racist descriptions, of course.

Rosemary ended up being much stronger than I figured she would be. Sort of. I mean, until the very end. I need to live with the story a bit more. I won't lie, I'm tempted to read the next book in the series.

I listened to the Audible version and the sound quality left a lot to be desired. Mia Farrow's acting and voices were good but it sounded like it was recorded a few decades ago. How about some clean up there, Audible?

Now I need to watch the movie because I don't remember anything about it at all.
Azrael_
Jan 09, 2025
1/10 star
Rosemary is a big dummy
Chloe._.23
Dec 07, 2024
9/10 stars
This book was sooo good
Sonia
Dec 03, 2024
8/10 stars
Definitely worth the read. It’s eerie and page turning
lexsea
Oct 28, 2024
7/10 stars
Boy, Ira Levin had to have a ginormous pair of cojones to end the story the way he did in 1967! The scariest part of this story was the gaslighting honestly and Rosemary was so damn naive, but overall this was super easy to read and pretty enjoyable. Levin’s did a fantastic job of meshing Rosemary’s dreams and her actual surroundings imo, as well as sowing the seeds of unease about the MC and if she is experiencing paranoia or if there truly is a massive conspiracy against her. Biggest takeaways from this book: 1. Don’t marry anyone named Guy. 2. Don’t answer the door just bc folks knock. 3. (And I thought this was a given) Someone that has ONLY black candles definitely deserves the side eye 👀 Currently thanking my lucky stars to have been born 30 years later bc I was not built for the 60’s 😮‍💨

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