I Dream of Jeannie Novel

[Flash72]

Does anyone know where I can obtain a reasonably priced copy, with "reasonably" being the operative word, of the 1966 novel "I Dream of Jeannie" by Dennis Brewster? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Flash72]

Well, finally after many years of wanting this book, I have a copy. I was able to snag one off ebay. It always fascinates me how the rarity of a book can be judged and how elusive it can be prove to be in obtaining said book. I was able to get a copy of the "Bewitched" paperback for a quarter a few years back; I got it an antique shop that obviously did not know the value of the book, lucky for me. As for the Jeannie book, the lowest price copy I had seen on abebooks.com was $50. While I love Jeannie, I would not pay that much for a book unless Barbara Eden came with it. I kept searching ebay periodically and lo and behold, I saw a copy up for auction. As serendipity would have it, I won the book, by only a few dollars difference from the previous high bidder. As for the book, from just glancing through it, it appears that all the regulars are in the book: Jeannie, Tony, Roger, DR Bellows, and some of Jeannie's family; a sister and mother I think it is. And like the aforementioned "Bewitched" paperback, the "Jeannie" novel is decidely more "adult" than the tv show portrayed the characters.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...(it's in pieces and the front cover is missing) and it's very similar to the "Bewitched" paperback in that the same writer, Al Hine, wrote the original "Jeannie" novel [as "Dennis Brewster"], as similar words and phrases {"whiz(z) kids", "Lorelei", "bangles", and so on} are used in both books. The difference is, Hine directly adapted scripts from the first seven episodes of "BEWITCHED" to stitch his book-length novel together, with variations on Samantha's family history [her father "John Dobson", was burned at the stake in York in 1538; Hine didn't include the episode that introduced "Maurice"], additional characters [Luke Cummings, a variation of Samantha's neighbors on Morning Glory Circle], and a different "happy ending" (Endora approves of Darrin as a son-in-law? Preposterous!!); but he never saw a single episode of the series during "JEANNIE"'s first half-season, creating up his own story, relying on a description of the characters and "backstory" given to him before he wrote the story...and is it ever off the mark! He has Jeannie refer to Captain Nelson as "Tony" more often than "Master" {"TONY"???}, and Jeannie's mother and sister {not the "rotten one" later introduced- "Nunz" is close to Jeannie's later description of her "baby sister" in "My Master, the Rainmaker"} eventually arrive in Cocoa Beach [living right next door to Tony!!], securing their own personal relationships with Colonel Bellows {he's never referred to as "Dr." throughout the entire story} and Roger "Healy", respectively. Jeannie herself changes somewhat after her family arrives, becoming more like "Samantha" than "herself". In fact, the rest of the novel plays like a variation of "BEWITCHED". "Brewster" can't even decide whether Jeannie lives in a bottle, vase, or jug (and she occupies it as smoke, a sure sign that he NEVER watched the TV show!).

A telltale sign that this "Jeannie" novel isn't really an "official" adaptation is that Sidney Sheldon's name appears nowhere on the cover or the copyright page- it's copyrighted in "Dennis Brewster"'s name, not "Sidney Sheldon Productions, Inc." (even the 1965-'66 Dell comic books has Sheldon's copyright, as he owned the series at the time).

It's interesting as "alternate history", but ultimately, it's a bit disappointing.

[CAJeannieFan57]

I felt the same way about the novel. Someone loaned me a copy of it - I had to give it back - but I about died at the treatment some of the characters got. And don't even get me started on the whole Jeannie calling her Master by his first name, or the misspelling of Healey!

[TV Knowledge Fan]

....for your honest opinion of the novel.

Al Hine was previously an editor at HOLIDAY magazine, and his interest in travel and culture as a result of his tenure was certainly a factor in the "travelogue" passages when Jeannie and Tony visit Iran, and later tour cross-country with Roger, Nunz and Colonel Bellows (he doesn't identify where the "Top Of the Mark" is in San Francisco, though; he assumed most readers knew it was the restaurant/cocktail lounge atop the Mark Hopkins Hotel {now known as the "Intercontinental Hotel"}). He also didn't want to dwell on the fact that Jeannie had to "serve" Captain Nelson and act as his "slave" because of her ancient heritage, so he has Jeannie refer to him as "Tony" as often as possible, and his persistent refusal to allow her to do ANYTHING magical for him, and eventually downplay their original relationship after Fatima and Nunz entered the story [Hine even had them adapt to 20th Century American culture so much, they hardly use their own magical abilities towards the end of the novel]. As I've said, it's interesting as "alternate history", but....

[Arfies]

Wow, I'm surprised Al Hine dropped the ball so much with his IDOJ book, especially since the "Bewitched" one is pretty good, though with some mistakes ("John Dobson" is merely referred to as an ancestor rather than her father, if I recall. I wrote a review of it here). No wonder he used the pen name "Dennis Brewster."

Another interesting fact: Al Hine was married to children's book author Sesyle Joslin, who wrote a number of books illustrated by Maurice Sendak. An original novel Hine wrote, "Lord Love a Duck," was turned into a bizarre movie starring Roddy MacDowall and Tuesday Weld.