The Graduate

Synopsis

The Graduate is a 1963 novella by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. It tells the story of Benjamin Braddock, who, while pondering his future after his graduation, has an affair with the older Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father's business partner, before falling in love with their daughter, Elaine. The novella was adapted into the highly successful, iconic, 1967 Oscar-winning film of the same name, directed by Mike Nichols, with Dustin Hoffman in the title role and Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson. Webb has stated he never felt comfortable with the attention the film brought him because he felt it distracted from his status as a serious artist. He did not receive any royalties from the film and has stated he is glad it happened that way. On the episode of the AMC television series Movies That Shook the World, devoted to the film adaptation, Webb revealed the identity of the real-life inspiration for Mrs. Robinson: Jane Ericson (spelling approximate), the wife of an associate of Webb's father. That was the extent of any similarity with the novel; Webb denied having a relationship with her. A sequel titled Home School, which takes place ten years after the ending of the first novel, was published by Hutchinson in June 2007.

Text license: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Details

Type

Book

Release date

January 1, 1963

Created by

Charles Webb

Countries

United States