Reception
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2023) |
| Author | V. C. Andrews |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Casteel series |
| Genre | Gothic horror Family saga |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | November 1st, 1985 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 440 |
| ISBN | 0671605364 |
| Followed by | Dark Angel |
Heaven is the first book in the Casteel series by author V. C. Andrews and was followed by Dark Angel, Fallen Hearts, Gates of Paradise, and Web of Dreams. It is also the first name of the main character. It was first published on November 1st, 1985, and is one of Andrews most popular works.
In 1961 a ten-year-old Heaven is awoken by her Granny and taken to a grave of Leigh Casteel. Heaven is told this is her birth mother who had died giving birth to Heaven. Granny then gives Heaven a beautiful doll that was made to look exactly like Heaven, with the exception of pale blonde hair. Heaven is stunned to learn that the doll is, in fact, an exact replica of her mother Leigh. Granny tells her that this doll will lead Heaven to her mother's family in Boston, thus changing the course of her entire life forever.
In the year of 1965, Heaven Leigh Casteel is a fourteen-year-old girl living in extreme poverty with her rather large and discontented family, in a shack in the mountains of West Virginia. Her father, Luke, is still haunted by the memory of his beloved first wife who died giving birth to Heaven. Luke almost never speaks to Heaven. He is rarely home and his new wife, Sarah, struggles to take care of Heaven and her half-siblings—Tom, Fanny (who is very pretty and somewhat promiscuous), and Keith and Jane. The Casteel family is looked down upon by the rest of the town, often referred to as "the hillbilly scum". Despite their poverty, Heaven and Tom work very hard at school, with Heaven hoping to become a schoolteacher when she is older. During this time, Heaven begins to develop a relationship with a local boy, Logan Stonewall. Meanwhile, Luke spends most of his time in a local brothel, where he eventually contracts syphilis, causing Sarah's next child to be born dead. Heaven's grandmother passes away the same day. The stillbirth is the last straw for Sarah, who had always hoped giving Luke a "dark-haired boy" like himself would finally make him love her. Sarah disappears, leaving a note. Luke is nowhere to be found, so the children are left to fend for themselves. Logan offers to help them, but Heaven is too proud (and embarrassed) to admit that they are struggling. Heaven misses a lot of school, since she now has to be mother to the family, take care of the shack and her frail, somewhat senile grandfather.
Whenever things look bleak, Luke shows up with food to save the day, but his attempts to make money fail, and eventually, he comes up with a plan to sell his children for $500 apiece. Keith and Jane are first bought by a nice couple, but Heaven is devastated at what is happening. Shortly after, the local preacher is interested in buying Heaven, but Luke persuades him that the younger sister, Fanny, is much more suitable for his household. Then a farmer comes for Tom, and Heaven can barely take it as Tom was her closest and best friend. Heaven's brothers and sisters are all sold before her, leaving her alone. It seems as though Luke may actually want to keep Heaven, as one night (thinking she is asleep), he comes to her and strokes her hair, muttering how soft and beautiful it is. Heaven feigns sleep and is confused as to why he is finally showing an interest. Then she hears her grandfather interrupt Luke, asking what he is doing in an upset voice. Luke seems defensive and says Heaven is his, and he can do what he wants, but Luke's father tells him no, and that he needs to send Heaven away. Heaven does not understand or realize what Luke's intentions were, and feels everyone is rejecting her now.
A few days later, Heaven is sold to a couple named Kitty and Cal Dennison. Kitty is controlling, obsessed with cleanliness, and though kind to Heaven at times, she often seems to hate Heaven and treat her like an unpaid maid. Kitty's husband Cal suffers from constantly being sexually teased and tormented by his wife. Cal and Heaven develop a close relationship, partly as a result of Kitty's treatment of them. Kitty actually starts to become violent and beat Heaven at times. Her cruelty is later revealed to be caused by the fact that Kitty once was in love with Luke and almost had his child. When Luke brought Heaven's mother back to town, Kitty attempted a home abortion, which went badly wrong and meant that she lost her ability to have children. Because of this, Kitty sees Heaven both as a release for her anger towards Luke, and as the daughter she was never able to have, causing Kitty to be wildly inconsistent in her treatment of Heaven. Heaven has kept her doll hidden, but one day Kitty sees her with it. Kitty becomes furious when she sees the doll is the exact likeness of Leigh. In a fit of rage, Kitty burns the doll. Devastated by the loss of something that linked her to her mother, Heaven tells Kitty she wishes she were dead, and Kitty beats her unconscious. Cal finds her later and tries to comfort her, but he also kisses her passionately. Heaven resists, but Cal eventually pressures her into having sex with him. Heaven gives in partly because she longs for affection and partly because she feels sorry for Cal over the way Kitty treats him. Although she is overcome with guilt and shame afterwards, the feeling of being needed by Cal is so important to her that she cannot say no to him.
Kitty becomes sick (later revealed to be breast cancer) and the three go back to Kitty and Heaven's hometown of Winnerrow to seek aid from Kitty's family. After meeting Kitty's family, especially Kitty's mother, Heaven begins to understand Kitty's behaviour and she starts to pity her. While in her hometown, she is reunited with her siblings Tom (whom she has missed terribly) and Fanny. Fanny seems happy with the preacher and his wife, but she is also distant to Heaven and seems to be avoiding her. Heaven tries to avoid Logan because she is afraid that he will somehow know what she has done with Cal just from looking at her. He eventually catches up to her and begs her to see him. She gives in and agrees to meet him the next day early in the morning. However, when she goes back to Kitty's mother house, Cal is waiting for her and tries to kiss her. Heaven pushes him away but Kitty's younger sister, Maisie, sees him with his hand on Heaven's breast. Maisie quickly tells her family about what she saw, and it rapidly spreads through the town. The next day, after she finishes taking care of Kitty, Heaven goes to meet Logan and they spend the day together but Logan cannot keep what he heard to himself and confronts Heaven. Although she is actually the victim in the situation, Heaven feels so guilty about her part in the 'seduction' that she admits it. Too young to understand that this was not Heaven's fault, Logan feels betrayed and runs away from her.
After she walks back into town, Heaven goes to the hospital to find Kitty awake and in a better mood. Kitty then tells Heaven that her father was there looking for her to apologize for everything and that he seemed like a different man. He also wanted to give her two choices: she can live with him and his new wife or try to find her mother's family and live with them, if they will accept her. Unable to forgive her father for the way he treated her and for selling his other children, Heaven decides to go and find her mother's family in Boston. Tom tells Heaven that he is going to live with Luke, as the farmer treats him like a slave. Cal takes Heaven to the airport so she can travel to her mother's family; once he gets her there, he hurries off. Tom shows up with Fanny, who reveals she is pregnant by the preacher and that is why she could not talk to or see Heaven—she has to stay hidden, and the preacher and his wife are going to pretend it is their baby. She hugs Heaven and tells her she loves her, then hurries back to her "home" with Tom before she is discovered missing.
While Heaven is waiting for her plane, she reads in the newspaper that Kitty has died. She thinks of how Cal drove her all the way to the airport and did not even mention this: he wants to start a new life and she is not part of his plans. Heaven is furious and hurt, thinking that after all Cal said about how much he loved her, he dumped her at the first opportunity, abandoning her just like Luke did. All she can do now is hope she finds peace and love with her mother's family.
Lifetime produced an adaptation of Heaven that aired on July 27, 2019, starring Annalise Basso, Chris McNally, James Rittinger, Jessica Clement, Chris William Martin, and Julie Benz. [1] A special edition of the film aired on August 3, 2019 that featured behind the scenes interviews with Basso, McNally, and Rittinger.
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2023) |
Luke and Laura Spencer are fictional characters, and the signature supercouple from the American daytime drama General Hospital. Luke is portrayed by Anthony Geary, and Laura is portrayed by Genie Francis. Though other supercouples came before them, Luke and Laura are the best known outside of the soap opera medium and are credited with defining the term supercouple and leading other soap operas to try to duplicate their success.
Cleo Virginia Andrews, better known as V. C. Andrews or Virginia C. Andrews, was an American novelist.
Baby Felix is a Japanese children's animated television program that follows the adventures of a young Felix the Cat and infant versions of the characters from Joe Oriolo's Felix television program from the 1950s. It is the third Felix television series. It was launched by Oriolo's son, Don Oriolo in 2000 with NHK Educational, NEC Interchannel and AEON Studios of Japan. The show consists of 26 half-hour episodes. It follows in the long line of "Baby Cartoon Revivals" alongside such shows as Muppet Babies, Baby Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry Kids, and The Flintstone Kids. All 26 episodes were released in Bulgaria on 9 DVDs by A-Design. In Italy the series aired during 2008 on Rai 2. In 2010, DVDs have been released in Hungary as well.
Garden of Shadows, a novel by V. C. Andrews, was first published in 1987. V. C. Andrews died in 1986, and her estate commissioned ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman to continue writing novels under her name developed from plot outlines originally written by Andrews. There is some dispute over whether this particular novel was written in part by Andrews before she died, or whether it was written entirely by Neiderman. This is the fifth novel of the Dollanganger series. The novel explains the origin of Olivia Winfield, the events that cause her to become the cold, domineering mistress of Foxworth Hall, and Corinne's childhood and eventual betrayal. It is the fifth novel of the Flowers in the Attic series but considered the prequel, as the story told takes place prior to the events of the first book. The story covers the years between 1918 and 1957.
Web of Dreams was written in 1990 by V. C. Andrews ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman. It is the fifth and final novel in The Casteel Series and is as a prequel to Heaven. Told primarily from the viewpoint of Heaven Casteel's mother, Leigh VanVoreen, the novel explains her secrets and circumstances as a 13-year-old girl who was forced to flee her wealthy Boston home, resulting in her dying in childbirth and leaving behind her daughter, Heaven, to be raised in the hills of West Virginia.
Lulu Spencer is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network, portrayed by Emme Rylan. Previously, Lulu was portrayed by child actress, Tessa Allen from 2004 to 2005. The role was most notably portrayed by Julie Marie Berman from 2005 to 2013. Rylan stepped into the role in 2013 and exited in 2020.
Troy Langdon Tatterton is a fictional character created by V. C. Andrews and continued by ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman in the bestselling novels in the Casteel series. Troy is the handsome and wealthy creator behind the inventions in the Tatterton Toy empire. He lives on the Farthingale estate in the cottage in the middle of the hedge maze.
Katherine Anne "Kitty" Walker McCallister is a fictional character on the primetime show Brothers & Sisters. She is played by actress Calista Flockhart. In a two-part 2010 episode, actress Kay Panabaker portrayed a teenage Kitty Walker in flashback sequences set in 1986.
No Telephone to Heaven, the sequel to Abeng (novel), is the second novel published by Jamaican-American author Michelle Cliff. The novel continues the story of Clare Savage, Cliff's semi-autobiographical character from Abeng, through a set of flashbacks that recount Clare's adolescence and young adulthood as she moves from Jamaica to the United States, then to England, and finally back to Jamaica. First published in 1987, the book has received attention for its articulation of the paradoxes of history and identity after, and counter to, the experience of colonization.
Tiffany Valentine is a murderous doll and the secondary antagonist in the Child's Play horror film series. She is portrayed by Jennifer Tilly in both live-action and voice over in Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, Cult of Chucky, and Chucky.
"The Road Less Traveled" is the fifth episode in the fourth season of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. It first aired on television on May 2, 2008. The survivor count shown in the title sequence is 39,676. It is the only episode of the entire series in which Bill Adama does not appear, and the first of two episodes not to feature Laura Roslin. It is also the final episode in which Number Six is absent.
The Way of Shadows is a 2008 fantasy novel written by Brent Weeks and is the first novel in The Night Angel Trilogy.
Indigo "Indi" Walker is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Samara Weaving. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 30 July 2009. Weaving and her on-screen family initially appeared in 2009 for a guest stint, in 2010 they were written back into the serial on a permanent basis. Indi's storylines have often focused on her relationship with Romeo Smith. Weaving announced her departure from Home and Away in July 2013 and Indi departed on 13 November 2013
As the World Turns is a long-running soap opera television series that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Its fictional world has a long and involved history.
Dark Angel is a 1986 book written by V. C. Andrews. It is the second book in the Casteel Series.
Gates of Paradise is the fourth out of five books in V. C. Andrews's The Casteel series.
Fallen Hearts (1988) is the third out of five books in American novelist V. C. Andrews's Casteel Series. The book was finished by her ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman, though the book was published under Andrews's name.
"Rescue Me" is the 17th episode of the fifth season of the American series The Vampire Diaries and the series' 106th episode overall. "Rescue Me" was originally aired on March 27, 2014, on The CW. The episode was written by Brett Matthews and Neil Reynolds and directed by Leslie Libman.
East of Eden is a 1981 American television miniseries based on John Steinbeck's 1952 novel of the same name. It aired in three parts on ABC from February 8–11, 1981. It was directed by Harvey Hart from a teleplay by Richard Shapiro, and starred Timothy Bottoms, Jane Seymour, Bruce Boxleitner, Soon Tek-Oh, Sam Bottoms, Hart Bochner, Karen Allen and Lloyd Bridges. It ran for roughly 382 minutes.