1. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
“The book that started it all. Connecticut is not a bad place to live. The people are quite cheery. I’ve been to the town Levin wrote this book in, and it’s still quaint and sleepy. This book presents the wives as they should be, dressed in nice, tight, sexy outfits to please their husbands, not the Bryan Forbes original movie that put them in frumpy Victorian clothes.”
2. The Stepford Wives DVD 1975
“Bryan Forbes’s movie based on Levin’s book. Forbes insisted on his wife Nanette Newman being cast in the movie. Because she did not have the figure to wear tight clothing, wardrobe for the film had to be drastically altered to frumpy housefrau getups to suit her. Ladies, we all know what to wear to bring a smile to our men’s faces. Frocks are not one of them.”
3. Fascinating Womanhood by Helen Andelin
“If you want to be a true Stepford Wife and you can’t afford robotic parts, look no further. This book is the bible for every Stepford Wife. Written by a Mormon as a call to arms against Betty Friedan’s Feminine Mystique, it has hypnotic mantras reaching ecstasy on making your man #1. If there was one book on a desert island to keep, for me it is undoubtedly this.”
4. Man of Steel and Velvet: A Guide to Masculine Development by Aubrey Andelin
“A lesser known book written by the husband of Helen Andelin. This book is the male counterpart to the Fascinating Womanhood. It portrays women as helpless, weak, indecisive creatures that need to be taken charge of by strong willful men. Although it is written for men, there are helpful passages that show an aspiring Stepford Wife what a man wants and expects.”
5. Happy Housewives: I Was a Whining, Miserable, Desperate Housewife–But I Finally Snapped Out of It…You Can, Too! by Darla Shine
“Darla Shine gives a roadmap for the overworked working woman to re-discover her inner domestic goddess self. You will find advice all over the internet on excelling and streamlining your domestic chores. But you have it all here in one book.”
6. Essentially Lilly: A Guide to Colorful Entertaining by Lilly Pulitzer
“You can be the most accommodating Stepford Wife but you still won’t earn the title until you do it with a smile. Lily Pulitzer, who believes in social grace and the inviting cheeriness of the good life, gives the Etiquette book a new spin here with recipes, annecdotes, and of course, lots of her trademark preppy pink and green.”
7. The Total Woman by Marabel Morgan
“Marabel Morgan highlights one of the oft overlooked criteria of a Stepford Wife: Explosive, good, high-quality, non-stop SEX on demand. She elaborates on spicing up your sex appeal, making your hubby want to come home at the end of the day, and the importance of a diverse roster that includes role-play. All versions of Stepford Wives (in book and movie) portray them with meteoric ability to satisfy and fortify their men’s sexual prowess.”
8. The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap by Stephanie Coontz
“The idea of the Stepford Wife was ultimately born in 1950s, when men were returning from war, graduated with degrees from the GI bill and they needed jobs. So television and magazines convinced women that giving up the jobs (they were trained and capable of doing during the war), returning to the home, pleasing their husbands, was the right decision. Coontz’s book surveys this phenomenon.”
9. To Hell with All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife by Caitlin Flanagan
“A writer in the New Yorker magazine, Flanagan reveres the 1950s as pre-feminist times. Some interesting observations and quotations that will assist you in becoming a Stepford Wife. Just remember that Flanagan has a maid in real life, so don’t be surprised when housework seems romanticized here.”
10. The Leave It to Beaver Guide to Life: Wholesome Wisdom from the Cleavers by Jennifer Colella
“A guide from the Beavers of Leave it to Beaver. June Cleaver – almost as much a descriptive noun as the Stepford Wife, can clean house, look after kids, and stand by Ward, all while wearing a New Look all white outfit with a pretty bowtie.”