The Country Husband

For the TV film adaptation, see The Country Husband (Playhouse 90).

"The Country Husband"
Short story by John Cheever
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Publication
Published inThe New Yorker
Publication dateNovember 20, 1954

"The Country Husband" is a short story by John Cheever which first appeared in The New Yorker on November 20, 1954. The work was included in the collection of Cheever's short fiction The Housebreaker of Shady Hill and Other Stories (1958) published by Harper and Brothers.[1] The story also appears in The Stories of John Cheever (1978).

"The Country Husband" is the first of the eight stories that Cheever set in the fictional suburban community of Shady Hill, and the best known of these works.[2][3][4][5]

The story won the O. Henry Award in January 1956.[6][7]

A film adaptation of the same name aired as part of the CBS anthology drama series Playhouse 90 in November 1956.[8][9]

  1. ^ Bailey, 2009 (1) p. 1025-1026
  2. ^ Donaldson, 1988 p. 141
  3. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. 81: "The stories in The Housebreaker of Shady Hill are some the longest Cheever wrote…"The Country Husband" is the longest and best known in the collection."
  4. ^ Waldeland, 1979 p. 66: ""Perhaps the best story in the collection The Housebreaker of Shady Hill and Other Stories (1958)..."
  5. ^ Yardley, 2004: "the cumulative effect of its eight stories is both powerful and sublime and because it includes 'The Country Husband,' Cheever's masterpiece."
  6. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. P. 15, 81: "...In January 1956 Cheever won the prestigious O. Henry Award for what some consider is his best story, "The Country Husband."
  7. ^ O'Hara, 1989 p. 56
    Wandeland, 1979 p. 66
    Coale, 1977 p. 7
  8. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. 16: "..."The Country Husband" was aired on the television drama series Playhouse 90" in November 1956.
  9. ^ Donaldson, 1988 p. 152