約翰•厄普代剋（John Updike，1932.3.18—2009.1.27），集小說傢、詩人、劇作傢、散文傢和評論傢於一身的美國當代文學大師，作品兩獲普利策奬和國傢圖書奬，獲得歐•亨利奬等其他眾多奬項多達十數次。“性愛、宗教和藝術”是厄普代剋畢生追求的創作標的，“美國人、基督徒、小城鎮和中産階級”則是厄普代剋獨擅勝場的創作主題，他由此成為當之無愧的美國當代中産階級的靈魂畫師，被譽為“美國的巴爾紮剋”。

Toward the end of the Vietnam era, in a snug little Rhode Island seacoast town, wonderful powers have descended upon Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie, bewitching divorcées with sudden access to all that is female, fecund, and mysterious. Alexandra, a sculptor, summons thunderstorms; Jane, a cellist, floats on the air; and Sukie, the local gossip columnist, turns milk into cream. Their happy little coven takes on new, malignant life when a dark and moneyed stranger, Darryl Van Horne, refurbishes the long-derelict Lenox mansion and invites them in to play. Thenceforth scandal flits through the darkening, crooked streets of Eastwick—and through the even darker fantasies of the town’s collective psyche.

From the Trade Paperback edition.