Notes I made while reading the book and rewatching the film

 

• stepford wives book takes place in 1972, film takes place in 1975, just going by the release dates of both. i’m using the 1975 timeline as a starting point for the sake of consistency
• name of men’s association HQ is Terhune house
• betty Friedan spoke at the stepford women’s club around 6 or 7 years before the book’s events take place
• in the book mary migliardi mentions the men’s association is 6 or 7 years old, meaning that in the movie’s timeline it would have been founded in 1968-1969
• women’s club disbanded around the time Dale Coba moved to stepford with his wife and 2 kids (Dale jr, 4, and Darren, 2)
• chapters 1-2 take place from September to january, final chapter sounds like late February?
• but in the film the story begins in either April or May 
• pete/amy eberhart’s 8th birthday happens in the book. because there’s virtually no information online about Ronny Sullivan (the kid who played Amy eberhart) I have no idea if Amy is supposed to be older or younger than Kim lmao
• Oh my fucking god. In William Goldman’s screenplay joanna is married off to dale coba……. That is fucking horrifying lmao. it didn’t translate from script to screen which idk if it’s a good thing for certain?

known locations:

• anvil road (cobas)
• cold creek road
• eastbridge road
• fairview lane (eberharts, Van Sants)
• old norwood road
• winter hill drive
• fox hollow lane (ockreys, markowes)
• short ridge hill
• stepford center
• historical society
• library
• post office
• men’s association HQ (terhune house, overlooks colonial shops in the center, built in 1870 by a railroad tycoon most likely named terhune)
• stepford creek
• route nine (shopping mall, antique store, industrial plants)
• gwendolyn lane (hendrys, sumners)
• new sharon
• Switzer Lane (andersons)
• stepford pond
• harvest
• talcott lane
• chimney road
• hunnicutt
• pine tree lane
• hickory lane
• goodwives grocery store (it was never called Goodwives in the book!!! I’m an idiot 🙃)

known residents:

• joanna & walter eberhart (kim, age idk & pete/amy, age 7/8)
• ted & carol van sant (daughters named stacy & allison, around kim eberhart’s age. Ted does scientific research)
• gary & donna claybrook (son named jeremy aged 10)
• vic & mary ann stavros (teenage daughter melinda)
• ike mazzard (men’s assoc., illustrator & de facto celebrity of the town)
• claude & marie axhelm (men’s assoc.) (3 kids and the oldest is 6)
• bobbie & dave markowe (short for markowitz / 3 sons: jonathan aged 10, adam & kenny aged 8 and 6 but idk which ones which)
• charmaine & ed wimperis (9 year old son named merrill from charmaine’s previous marriage)
• ginny fisher (used to play tennis with charmaine)
• lloyd & barbara chamalian (Scott, a son)
• marge & bill mccormick (teenage son)
• kit & herb sundersen (men’s assoc.)
• yvonne weisgalt
• dr verry
• frank roddenberry (men’s assoc.) & unnamed wife
• Dale Coba (men’s assoc.) & unnamed wife (two sons, dale jr and Darren)
• duane anderson (men’s assoc.) & unnamed wife
• mary migliardi
• the dacostas
• Ruthanne & royal hendry (two daughters, chickie and sara aged 4 and 6, I’ve decided chickie is short for charlotte)
• buck raymond, a stockbroker
• alan hollingsworth, a psychiatrist, & unnamed wife
• dr margaret fancher, a psychiatrist
• Richard ockrey (men’s assoc.) & unnamed wife
• robert sumner jr (men’s assoc.) & unnamed wife
• Peter duwicki (men’s assoc.)
• Frank ferretti (men’s assoc.)
• james scofield (men’s assoc.)
• martin weiner (men’s assoc.)
• steven margolies (men’s assoc.)
• Frank & Patricia cornell (run the pharmacy, OH FRANK YOU’RE THE MASTER)
• Bernie surname (men’s assoc.)
• wynn surname (men’s assoc.)