The Mad Wife
  • Published: 6 January 2026
  • ISBN: 9781464236747
  • Imprint: Sourcebooks Landmark
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $37.00
Categories:

The Mad Wife

Pre-order from…
The Nile Mighty Ape BookHub Whitcoulls The Warehouse Paper Plus Fishpond Book Hero Unity Books University Book Shop Find Local Retailers

From bestselling author Meagan Church comes a haunting exploration of identity, motherhood, and the suffocating grip of societal expectations that will leave you questioning the lives we build—and the lies we live.

From bestselling author Meagan Church comes a haunting exploration of identity, motherhood, and the suffocating grip of societal expectations that will leave you questioning the lives we build—and the lies we live.
They called it hysteria. She called it survival.

Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu's carefully crafted life begins to unravel.

When a new neighbor, Bitsy, moves in, Lulu suspects that something darker lurks behind the woman's constant smile. As her fixation on Bitsy deepens, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life. The more she uncovers about Bitsy, the more she questions everything she thought she knew—and soon, others begin questioning her sanity. But is Lulu truly losing her mind? Or is she on the verge of discovering a reality too terrifying to accept?

In the vein of The Bell Jar and The Hours, The Mad Wife weaves domestic drama with psychological suspense, so poignant and immersive, you won't want to put it down.
  • Published: 6 January 2026
  • ISBN: 9781464236747
  • Imprint: Sourcebooks Landmark
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $37.00
Categories:

About the author

Meagan Church

After receiving a degree in English with a focus on creative writing from Indiana University, MEAGAN CHURCH built a career as a storyteller and freelance writer for brands, blogs and organizations. Her fiction focuses on overlooked and oppressed women’s voices from the past. A Midwesterner by birth, she now lives in North Carolina with her high school sweetheart, three children and a plethora of pets.

Also by Meagan Church

The Girls We Sent Away
The Last Carolina Girl
See all

Praise for The Mad Wife

In a quietly devastating wink-and-nod to The Bell Jar, set firmly in thriller and suspense territory, Meagan Church delivers a piercing portrait of a young mother unraveling in the grip of 1960s suburbia, where Jell-O molds collapse, dishwashers invade, and card games with neighbors turn into emotional battlefields. With razor-sharp insight and aching lyricism, The Mad Wife traces a woman’s descent through sleepless nights, domestic disillusionment, and buried guilt, capturing a haunting tension between what is said, seen, and silently endured until she no longer can.

Lee Kravetz, The Last Confessions of Sylvia P.

I devoured The Mad Wife, bite by savory bite. Church's novel expertly captures the paradox of being a 'perfect' housewife in the 1950s, all while drawing a subtle parallel to the plight of the 'ideal' woman today. The suspenseful unraveling of women's secrets--not to mention, their minds--kept me turning pages late into the night.

Kristen Bird, USA Today bestselling author of Watch It Burn

The Mad Wife is a gripping and heart-wrenching portrait of a 1950s housewife at her wits end, struggling with the alienation and claustrophobia of midcentury suburban life. In this one-sitting read, Church offers unforgettable characters, a beautiful window into life in the Fifties, and a stirring tribute to the strength of women. This should be at the top of every book club’s list this fall.

Ashley Winstead, USA Today-bestselling author of This Book Will Bury Me