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NEED TO KNOW
- Freida McFadden doesn’t necessarily expect people to read The Housemaid before watching the film, she tells PEOPLE at the movie’s New York premiere
- “I’m always kind of a ‘see the movie, then read the book and get the extra details’ kind of person, but sometimes it ruins the book for you,” she says
- McFadden served as an executive producer on the film alongside leads Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried
Freida McFadden is weighing in on a longstanding debate: should you read the book before watching the movie?
The author of the bestselling thriller novel The Housemaid spoke with PEOPLE at the New York premiere of the book’s film adaptation on Dec. 3. While many authors — and readers — contend the best approach in a book-and-adaptation situation is to read the source material first, McFadden says her take isn’t as simple as that.
After previously stating that she almost prefers the the movie of The Housemaid to the novel she wrote, McFadden tells PEOPLE she’d support both approaches to the story — those who read the book first and those who watch the film first — because there are virtues to both.
Grand Central Publishing
“I’m always kind of a ‘see the movie, then read the book and get the extra details’ kind of person, but sometimes it ruins the book for you,” McFadden admitted. “So I think whatever people wanna do, I think it’s good either way.”
Months prior, in a Sept. 16 Instagram post, McFadden shared her unfiltered reaction to an early viewing of the film, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. The story follows a woman who accepts a job as a housemaid to a wealthy couple, and stumbles across the family’s dark secrets along the way.
In the post’s caption, McFadden gushed over how the adaptation turned out, and admitted she might even like the film more than the book she wrote.
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“I was lucky enough to get to watch a sneak preview of The Housemaid movie, and I absolutely LOVED it!” McFadden captioned her post. “The second it was over, I turned to my husband in the theater and said, ‘Omg, I think it was better than the book!’ (And he said, ‘Yeah’).”
“It (almost) made me want to write another Housemaid book. (Almost!) The only problem is, I don’t know how I’m going to be able to wait until December to get to watch it again!” she added.
Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate
Alongside Sweeney and Seyfried, McFadden serves as an executive producer on the film, which premieres Dec. 19 in the United States.
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The Housemaid is the first of McFadden’s three books set in the same universe, joined by The Housemaid’s Secret and The Housemaid is Watching. The author, known for her psychological thrillers, also penned bestsellers The Inmate, Never Lie and The Tenant.
