The Housemaid (novel)

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The Housemaid
The Housemaid Freida McFadden book cover.jpg
First edition cover
Author Freida McFadden
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Housemaid
Release number
1
Genre Psychological thriller
Set inLong Island
Publisher Bookouture
Publication date
April 2022
Media type ebook
ISBN 978-1-80314-437-5
Followed byThe Housemaid's Secret 

The Housemaid is a 2022 psychological thriller novel by Freida McFadden and published by Bookouture. [1] Set in Long Island, the novel follows a young maid for a wealthy family with dark secrets. The novel was a commercial success and was adapted into a film in 2025, with Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried in leading roles.

Contents

Plot

Millie Calloway is a young woman with a troubled past, having recently been fired from her job after an incident that nearly sent her back to prison. Millie is unable to find work due to her criminal record and spends a month living in her car. She jumps at an opportunity to become a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Winchester family: Nina, her husband Andrew, and their daughter Cecelia, who live in a luxurious estate on Long Island.

Millie discovers that the tiny attic room she is staying in locks from the outside. Enzo, the Winchesters' Italian gardener who speaks limited English, tries to warn Millie of "danger". While enduring Nina's reprehensible treatment of her and learning of the woman's prior psychotic episodes and mental hospital stays, Millie bonds with Andrew, who tries to deflect Nina's frequent and unpredictable lashing out. The two develop feelings for each other, and end up sleeping together on a night when Nina is away dropping Cecelia off at camp. Nina learns of their night together and sets out to humiliate and disparage Millie, which ultimately leads Andrew to tell his wife he wants to separate. After Nina is made to leave, Millie prepares to settle in, only to discover, while packing, that Andrew has locked her in the attic room.

From Nina's perspective, it is revealed that Andrew is physically and psychologically abusive towards her, forcing her to undergo cruel "punishments" in a locked room - the same one Millie has been staying in - if she does not behave the way he wants. At the start of their marriage, Andrew had staged an attempted murder-suicide, making it appear that Nina intended to kill both herself and Cecilia, consequently having Nina labeled as insane and giving him control over her. As a result of that, Nina was sent to an asylum for a year and, after returning, lived life according to Andrew's demands. Enzo realized the situation Nina was in, but was unable to help her without arousing Andrew's suspicion. After devising a plan to manipulate Andrew into replacing her, Nina began researching possible candidates, and ultimately decided to hire Millie as a housemaid after seeing her record. Everything that happened afterward was part of Nina's plot to get Millie and Andrew to have an affair, so that Andrew would turn his torturous attentions toward Millie.

Before being hired by Nina, Millie had served time in prison as a teenager for fatally beating a boy who tried to rape her best friend, Kelsey. After discovering that, Nina hired her because she believed that Millie could do what she could not: kill Andrew. In the present, Andrew forces Millie to perform a punishment to earn her way out of the attic but, after he goes in to release her, she incapacitates him using a bottle of pepper spray that Nina has left hidden there for her, and locks him in the room. Over the next few days, Millie forces Andrew to perform punishments that grow increasingly worse, culminating in forcing him to rip out four of his own teeth, reneging on her promises to let him out each time, and keeping him trapped until he dies of thirst.

After Enzo convinces Nina to try and help Millie, Nina returns to the house and discovers Andrew dead. She apologizes to Millie and orders her to flee, while she stays behind and calls the police, intending to protect Millie by taking the blame for Andrew’s death. However, police investigator Connors ultimately dismisses the case as an accidental death, concluding that Andrew has been locked in the attic by mistake while home alone and closes the case. Privately, he informs Nina that Andrew was previously engaged to his daughter Kathleen and she never fully recovered, hinting that he knew Andrew was dangerous but could not investigate him due to the Winchesters' influence.

After Andrew's funeral, Nina and Cecelia leave the house and move away to start over, while Enzo and Millie form a group dedicated to helping women escape from abusive relationships. A year later, Millie is interviewed by a woman called Lisa Killeffer, who is looking for a housemaid. Lisa tells Millie that Nina highly recommended her. After seeing a bruise on Lisa's arm and deducing that her husband was responsible, Millie understands why Nina recommended her and tells Lisa that she can help her.

Background

McFadden wrote the novel in 2019 but abandoned it after sensing it was "a little too dark" and uncharacteristic of her earlier work. She was later approached by the British digital publishing company Bookouture, which offered to publish one of her books and promote it on their mailing list. She decided to give them The Housemaid, which they published in April 2022. [2] [3] The immediate success of the novel inspired McFadden to sign with an agent in late 2022 and search for a publisher to distribute her books in print. [2] Grand Central Publishing picked up the novel and published it in paperback on August 23, 2022. [4]

Reception

The New York Times reported that, shortly after publication, the book became a "monster hit". In their June 2024 profile of McFadden, the newspaper reported that the book sold more than two million copies and had been on Amazon's best-seller list for 83 weeks, and had spent 60 weeks on The New York Times trade paperback best-seller list. The novel's success also caused a surge in popularity for McFadden's earlier novels. [2] As of January 2026, it has spent 141 weeks on The New York Times trade paperback best-seller list, as well as 112 weeks on its Combined Print and E-Book Fiction list. [5]

In October 2024, The Washington Post reported that the book sold around 1.6 million print copies. [3]

The novel and The Housemaid series in general have amassed a large fanbase and readership partly due to attention from the BookTok community on TikTok, as well as discussion boards on Facebook and Goodreads. [3]

In France, The Housemaid sold more than 630,000 copies in 2024, according to GfK, and was the best-selling novel of the year. [6] In L'Express , Marianne Payot wrote, "Despite some longueurs and repetitions, The Housekeeper holds up. Thanks, in particular, to the cheekiness of its heroine". [7] In Libération , Thomas Stélandre wrote, "It has the fineness of a Stabilo, but it must be said that it is devoured like fast food, whether taken at face value or on a deeper level". The newspaper deemed the novel's primary purpose to be entertainment and quoted an anonymous bookseller who offhandedly remarked that it was "a book for non-readers". [8]

Awards

Sequels

In February 2023, Bookouture published a sequel novel, The Housemaid's Secret. In June 2024, the third book in the series, The Housemaid Is Watching, was published. [10] [11]

Film adaptation

Film rights were acquired in July 2022 by Todd Lieberman's Hidden Pictures, in partnership with Lionsgate. [12] [13] In April 2023, Rebecca Sonnenshine was announced to adapt the screenplay. [14] In October 2024, Paul Feig was announced to direct with a cast of Sydney Sweeney (Millie) and Amanda Seyfried (Nina). [15] [16] Brandon Sklenar joined the cast as Andrew later that same month. [17] In December 2024, Michele Morrone was cast as Enzo. [18]

References

  1. ↑ Singh, Anita (January 9, 2025). "The author you've never heard of storming the UK's bestseller list". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Alter, Alexandra (June 22, 2024). "How a Boston Physician Conquered the Thriller Genre". The New York Times . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Freida McFadden didn't mean to become a best-selling novelist". The Washington Post . October 24, 2024. Archived from the original on November 2, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  4. ↑ Brewer, Robert Lee (August 25, 2022). "Freida McFadden: On Writing a Long First Draft". Writer's Digest . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Best Sellers - Books - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Le thriller La femme de ménage est la star des librairies en 2024". Le Figaro (in French). January 11, 2025. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  7. ↑ ""La femme de ménage", de Freida McFadden : les recettes de ce phénomène littéraire". L'Express (in French). November 25, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  8. ↑ Stélandre, Thomas. "La Femme de ménage, le coup d'éclat de Freida McFadden". Libération (in French). Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Past Nominees and Winners". International Thriller Writers . Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  10. ↑ Kalavrezou, Myrto (September 28, 2023). "Bookouture sign third book by bestseller Freida McFadden". Bookouture . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  11. ↑ Brown, Lauren (September 28, 2023). "Bookouture bags third book in McFadden's Housemaid thriller series". The Bookseller . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  12. ↑ Jr, Mike Fleming (July 19, 2022). "Todd Lieberman Launches Film/TV Co Hidden Pictures With Lionsgate Film Deal, Names Alex Young Prexy & Lands Bestseller 'The Housemaid' As First Acquisition". Deadline . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  13. ↑ Brown, Lauren (July 20, 2022). "Film rights to McFadden's The Housemaid snapped up in four-way auction". The Bookseller . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  14. ↑ Grobar, Matt (April 18, 2023). "'The Boys' Alum Rebecca Sonnenshine To Pen Adaptation Of Freida McFadden's Bestselling Psychological Thriller 'The Housemaid' For Lionsgate, Hidden Pictures". Deadline . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  15. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (October 8, 2024). "Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried to Star in 'The Housemaid' Adaptation From Director Paul Feig, Lionsgate". Variety . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  16. ↑ Kroll, Justin (October 8, 2024). "Sydney Sweeney And Amanda Seyfried To Star In Lionsgate's Adaptation Of 'The Housemaid' With Paul Feig On Board To Direct". Deadline . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  17. ↑ Kroll, Justin (October 24, 2024). "'It Ends With Us' Actor Brandon Sklenar Joins Sydney Sweeney In 'The Housemaid' Adaptation From Paul Feig And Lionsgate". Deadline . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  18. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 17, 2024). "'365 Days' Actor Michele Morrone Joins Sydney Sweeney & Amanda Seyfried In 'The Housemaid'". Deadline. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
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