The Widows of Eastwick (2008) Signed First Edition Reference
The Widows of Eastwick (2008) is John Updike’s final novel, published just months before his death in January 2009. A sequel to The Witches of Eastwick (1984), the novel reunites Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie — now elderly widows — as they return to Eastwick and confront the legacy of their magical past. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, the novel is explicitly elegiac: the three women are reckoning with age, guilt, mortality, and the diminishment of the powers that once defined them.
First Edition Identification
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, New York Publication date: October 2008 Format: Hardcover, 307 pages First printing indicator: “First Edition” on the copyright page
The first printing was moderate to large. As Updike’s health was declining (he would die of lung cancer three months after publication), the novel carries the retroactive weight of a valediction, though neither Updike nor Knopf presented it as such at publication.
Signed Copy Values
- Flat-signed: $150–$400
- Inscribed: $250–$600
The “last novel” premium elevates pricing slightly above the baseline for late-career Updike. Signed copies are available — Updike signed for the publication — but the proximity to his death and his declining health may have limited the volume somewhat relative to earlier titles.
The Last Novel Premium
As with Roth’s Nemesis, the “last novel” designation creates a permanent structural premium. Collectors value the bookend effect — a signed Poorhouse Fair (debut) paired with a signed Widows of Eastwick (farewell) creates the definitive Updike career bookend display.
Market Notes
Modestly above the late-career Updike baseline, driven by the last-novel premium and the sequel connection to the commercially successful Witches of Eastwick. Fair value at current prices with modest appreciation potential.