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Biography
American

Ira Levin

1929 — 2007

Ira Levin was an American novelist and playwright who wrote some of the most successful thrillers and horror novels of the twentieth century. Rosemary's Baby (1967), The Stepford Wives (1972), and The Boys from Brazil (1976) each became iconic cultural touchstones and were adapted into major films. His plots — ingenious, tightly constructed, and unsettlingly plausible — combine genre pleasures with sharp social commentary.

Past sales0
Period20th Century
NationalityAmerican
1. Biography

A short life of the author

Ira Marvin Levin (1929–2007) was born on 27 August 1929 in New York City. He studied at Drake University and New York University. He was also a successful playwright: No Time for Sergeants (1955) and Deathtrap (1978, the longest-running thriller in Broadway history) are his best-known plays.

Life and Career

A Kiss Before Dying (1953) — his debut, a murder mystery about a charming sociopath — won the Edgar Award. Rosemary’s Baby (1967) — about a young woman in a Manhattan apartment building who discovers that her neighbours are Satanists who want her unborn child — is one of the most important horror novels of the twentieth century. Roman Polanski’s 1968 film adaptation is a classic.

The Stepford Wives (1972) — about a suburb where the women have been replaced by docile robot replicas — coined a term that entered the language. The Boys from Brazil (1976) — about a Nazi plot to clone Hitler — is a thriller of extraordinary ingenuity.

Major Works and Themes

Levin was a supremely skilled plot constructor whose thrillers also function as social commentary: Rosemary’s Baby is about the vulnerability of women, The Stepford Wives about patriarchal control, The Boys from Brazil about the persistence of fascism. His prose is clean and efficient — every sentence advances the plot.

Key Works

  • Rosemary’s Baby (1967)
  • The Stepford Wives (1972)
  • The Boys from Brazil (1976)
  • Deathtrap (1978, play)

Collecting Levin

A Kiss Before Dying (1953, Simon & Schuster) — the debut — brings $50–$200. Rosemary’s Baby (1967, Random House) brings $100–$400. The Stepford Wives (1972, Random House) brings $40–$150. Levin died in 2007.