The Bridges of Madison County

The Bridges of Madison County is a 1992 best-selling novel by Robert James Waller that tells the story of a married but lonely Italian woman living in 1960s Madison County, Iowa. She engages in an affair with a National Geographic photographer from Bellingham, Washington, who is visiting Madison County to create a photographic essay on the covered bridges in the area. The novel is presented as a novelization of a true story, but it is in fact entirely fictional. However, the author has stated in an interview that there are strong similarities between the main character and himself.

The novel is one of the bestselling books of the 20th century, with 50 million copies sold worldwide. It has also been adapted into a feature film in 1995 and a musical in 2013.

Publication history

It was originally published in the UK under the title Love in Black and White.

A sequel entitled A Thousand Country Roads was published in 2002. It tells the remainder of the two main characters' story after their four-day affair. They never meet again, but their lives are interlocked until death.

The Bridges of Madison County (musical)

The Bridges of Madison County is a musical, based on Robert James Waller's 1992 novel, with a book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on February 20, 2014, and closed on May 18, 2014. The Broadway production was directed by Bartlett Sher and starred Kelli O'Hara as Francesca and Steven Pasquale as Robert.

Productions

Pre-Broadway

The Bridges of Madison County originated at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and ran from August 1 to August 18, 2013. The musical was directed by Bartlett Sher, with scene design by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting by Donald Holder, and sound by Jon Weston. The cast featured Steven Pasquale (Robert), Elena Shaddow (Francesca), Daniel H. Jenkins (Bud), Nick Bailey (Michael), Caitlin Kinnunen (Carolyn), Cass Morgan (Marge), Michael X. Martin (Charlie), Whitney Bashor (Marian/Chiara), John Paul Almon, Jennifer Allen, Emma Duncan, Luke Marinkovich, Laura Shoop, and Tim Wright.

The Bridges of Madison County (film)

The Bridges of Madison County is a 1995 American romantic drama film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller. It was produced by Amblin Entertainment and Malpaso Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment. The film was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with Kathleen Kennedy as co-producer and the screenplay was adapted by Richard LaGravenese. The film stars Eastwood and Meryl Streep.

The film was a critical and commercial success, earning $182 million worldwide. Streep received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination in 1996 for her performance in the film.

Plot

In the present, siblings Michael and Carolyn arrive at the Iowa farmhouse of Francesca Johnson, their recently deceased mother, to see about the settlement of their mother's estate. As they go through the contents of her safe deposit box and the will, they are baffled to discover that their mother left very specific instructions that her body be cremated and her ashes thrown off the nearby Roseman Covered Bridge, which is not in accordance with the burial arrangements they had known from their parents. Michael initially refuses to comply, while Carolyn discovers a set of photos of her mother and a letter. She manages to convince Michael to set aside his initial reaction so they can read the documents she has discovered. Once alone, they go through a series of letters from a man named Robert Kincaid to their mother. The siblings find their way to a chest where their mother left a letter, a series of diaries, and other mementos.