NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 In John Irving's next book, the author is returning to St. Cloud's, Maine, and to the orphanage made famous in his acclaimed 鈥淭he Cider House Rules.鈥
Simon & Schuster announced Thursday that Irving's 鈥淨ueen Esther鈥 will be published Nov. 4. His novel will bring back Dr. Wilbur Larch from 鈥淭he Cider House Rules,鈥 but otherwise features a new set of characters. According to Simon & Schuster, 鈥淨ueen Esther鈥 will span much of the 20th century as it follows the life of Esther Nacht, a Viennese Jew born in 1905, abandoned at age 4 and taken in as a teen by a New England family.
Irving ends the story in Jerusalem, in 1981.
鈥淭he construction of this novel long predates the events of Oct. 7, and everything that鈥檚 happened in Israel since those terrorist attacks and the hostage-taking," Irving said in a statement. 鈥淲ith hindsight, it鈥檚 easy to say that what I saw and heard in Israel in the early 1980s serves as a precursor to what has developed since that time, but this is what historical fiction is for.鈥
Irving, 82, is also known for such acclaimed works as 鈥淭he Hotel New Hampshire,鈥 鈥淭he World According to Garp鈥 and 鈥淎 Prayer for Owen Meany.鈥 He published 鈥淭he Cider House Rules鈥 in 1985 and won an Oscar for writing the screenplay for the 1999 movie adaptation. Michael Caine, who played Dr. Larch, received an Oscar for best supporting actor.
鈥淥ne of the deepest pleasures of reading John Irving comes from discovering the turns in his story along with his characters, so I will give away no plot details, other than to say this: In 鈥楺ueen Esther,鈥 John Irving literally takes readers where he鈥檚 never taken them before," Irving's editor, Simon and Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp, said in a statement.
"The fact that John is still breaking new artistic ground in his 80s and doing so with such audacious and impeccably crafted storytelling, is yet another reason why he is one of the world鈥檚 greatest writers.鈥
