The Mad Wife

A Novel

By: Meagan Church

Narrated by: Susan Bennett

With odes of The Bell Jar comes a searing historical suspense following a 1950s housewife who, when a mysterious new wife moves across the way, begins to unearth dark secrets about her neighborhood and her own mind.

In the 1950s, nothing is valued more than conformity, and Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the ideal housewife. But after the birth of her daughter, Lulu's carefully constructed life begins to teeter.

Exhausted by expectations and haunted by tragic memories, Lulu looks to her new neighbor, Bitsy. Bitsy, always the model of a perfect housewife, is not quite what she seems and Lulu knows something dark lurks beneath Bitsy's constant smile. Increasingly fixated on Bitsy and her perfectly crafted life, Lulu's mental state begins to fracture, and memories she had suppressed long ago begin to rise to the surface. Soon, Lulu is forced to confront the possibility that she might be headed down a path much darker than she could ever foresee.

Set against the backdrop of a post-war era defined by tradition and constrained femininity, The Mad Wife weaves together a coming-of-age search for identity with a psychological drama so poignant, you won't be able to stop listening.

©2025 Meagan Church (P)2025 Recorded Books

Haunting story with a tinge of nostalgia

Really enjoyed listening to this book. It was methodical, a slow build, and terribly sad. Enjoyed the look back into the past and the exploration of gender roles expected by society. One thing that has not changed is the belief that someone you know has it all together when they’re the ones that are most broken.

Such a beautiful and sad story

The audiobook is great. The story plot is fascinating. I really enjoyed the book. It leaves you thinking.

Peek into mom’s life

I knew a lot of stuff women endured in the 50s, but this really hit home. I wish my mom and grandma were still alive so I could talk to them about it.

I’ll think about this book for a long time

This was such a poignant, sad story of not only motherhood, but of being a woman - and in a time when women and men had certain roles in life. Lulu’s struggles and her loving heart will stay with me for a long time.

A slow burn, but it gets there.

Really loved the little quips here and there in the main character’s mind that casually reinforced the time period. This book plays with your expectations in such an interesting way. The pacing is slow at first, but it picks up tremendous momentum near the end. The ending delivers in a way that feels satisfying, but allows you to continue imagining what happens next.

While there are other things in this book I would consider a trigger warning for some folks, I would like to note that I am very sensitive to portrayals of animal abuse or animal death in general. If you are too, read on.

Here is a mild spoiler for those of you who always worry when there is a dog or cat involved in a thriller:

Nothing bad happens to the cat! I don’t even know if you were supposed to worry for the cat, but given the tone of the book, I did. I would have enjoyed this book more had I been assured that the cat remains fine the whole way through.

Made me want to cry

Great characters and book. I was shocked! It was a Wonderful read, interesting, & some parts really resonated with me.

Shocking and realistic!

I loved the performance of the narrator. The story build up was steady and it gives it a more eerie feeling. The ending was straight forward. I enjoyed it

Just Wow...

So much better than I expected, it was slow to start but so worth getting to the end.

For psychologically-minded listeners

This thrilling novel kept me engaged from the very beginning to the last page. I loved everything about it: the writing style, the character development, the unique storyline, the nostalgia it evoked. The psychological development described here seems to be right on target.

Eye-opening

It was something to see into the life of what was expected of a suburban housewife in the 50s. The book did have my attention the whole way through! Great narration.