Desperate Living: A Screenplay
By (Author) John Waters
St Martin's Press
Picador USA
26th August 2025
16th June 2025
United States
General
Non Fiction
791.4372
Paperback
96
Width 126mm, Height 189mm, Spine 6mm
82g
On the verge of a suburban mental health crisis, frazzled and wildly unstable housewife Peggy (immortalized by Mink Stole on-screen) runs away from home with her maid and partner in crime, Grizelda (played with spectacular gumption by the sizzling Jean Hill), only to end up in Mortville, a shantytown filled with society's rejects. Mortville is run by the evil Queen Carlotta, who parades through the cardboard streets taunting and terrorizing her subjects. John Waters' wild and visionary fable lampoons everything from the staid conservatism of the American dream to race and class relations. The New York Times ranked Desperate Living at "the highest peak atop [John Waters'] trash heap of a filmography." High praise indeed!
John Waters is a writer, a film director, an actor, and a visual artist best known for his films, including Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and Serial Mom. He is the author of the national bestsellers Role Models, Carsick, and Mr. Know-It-All. His spoken-word shows This Filthy World, False Negative, End of the World, and A John Waters Christmas continue to be performed around the world. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.