The Green Mile is a 1996 serial novel written by Stephen King. It tells the story of death row supervisor Paul Edgecombe's encounter with John Coffey, an unusual inmate who displays inexplicable healing and empathetic abilities. The serial novel was originally released in six volumes before being republished as a single volume work. The book is an example of magical realism.
The Green Mile was first published in six low-priced paperback volumes. The first, subtitled The Two Dead Girls was published on March 28, 1996, with new volumes following monthly until the final volume, Coffey on the Mile, was released on August 29, 1996. The novel was republished as a single paperback volume on May 5, 1997. On October 3, 2000, the book was published in its first hardcover edition (ISBN 978-0743210898). In 2007, Subterranean Press released a 10th anniversary edition of the novel in three different versions, each mimicking the original six-volume release: the Gift Edition, limited to 2,000 copies, containing six unsigned hardcover volumes of each separate part, housed in a slipcase; the Limited Edition, limited to 148 numbered copies, and signed by Stephen King, housed in a slipcase; and the Lettered Edition, limited to 52 lettered copies, and signed by Stephen King, housed in a traycase. Every edition contained new illustrations by Mark Geyer, the novel's original illustrator. Each version had its own design, and cost $150, $900, and $2,500, respectively. There were other versions published as well, including a "pocketbook" sized hardcover by Paw Prints (ISBN 9781439182789).
A first-person narrative told by Paul Edgecombe, the novel switches between Paul as an old man in the Georgia Pines nursing home sharing his story with fellow resident Elaine Connelly in 1996, and his time in 1932 as the block supervisor of the Cold Mountain Penitentiary death row, nicknamed "The Green Mile" for the color of the floor's linoleum. This year marks the arrival of John Coffey, a 6 ft 8 in powerfully built black man who has been convicted of raping and murdering two small white girls. During his time on the Mile, John interacts with fellow prisoners Eduard "Del" Delacroix, a Cajun arsonist, rapist, and murderer, and William Wharton ("Billy the Kid" to himself, "Wild Bill" to the guards), a wild-acting and dangerous multiple murderer who is determined to make as much trouble as he can before he is executed. Other inhabitants include Arlen Bitterbuck, a Native American convicted of killing a man in a fight over a pair of boots (also the first character to die in the electric chair); Arthur Flanders, a real estate executive who killed his father to perpetrate insurance fraud, and whose sentence is eventually commuted to life imprisonment (while serving his sentence, he is killed by another inmate in the laundry room); and Mr. Jingles, a mouse, to whom Del teaches various tricks.
Paul and the other guards are antagonized throughout the book by Percy Wetmore, a sadistic guard who enjoys antagonizing the prisoners. The other guards have to be civil to him despite their dislike of him because he is the nephew of the Governor's wife. When Percy is offered a position at the nearby Briar Ridge psychiatric hospital as a secretary, Paul thinks they are finally rid of him. However, Percy refuses to leave until he is allowed to supervise an execution, so Paul hesitantly allows him to run Del's. Percy deliberately avoids soaking a sponge in brine that is supposed to be tucked inside the electrode cap to ensure a quick death in the electric chair. When the switch is thrown, the current causes Del to catch fire in the chair and suffer a prolonged, agonizing demise.
Over time, Paul realizes that John possesses inexplicable healing abilities, which he uses to cure Paul's urinary tract infection and revive Mr. Jingles after Percy stomps on him. Simple-minded and shy, John is very empathic and sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others around him. One night, the guards drug Wharton, then put a straitjacket on Percy and lock him in the padded restraint room so that they can smuggle John out of the prison and take him to the home of Warden Hal Moores. Hal's wife Melinda has an inoperable brain tumor, which John cures. When they return to the Mile, John passes the "disease" from Melinda into Percy, causing him to go mad and shoot Wharton to death before falling into a catatonic state from which he never recovers. Percy is committed to Briar Ridge.
Paul's long-simmering suspicions that John is innocent are proven right when he discovers that it was actually William Wharton who raped and killed the twin sisters and that John was trying to revive them. Later John tells Paul what he saw when Wharton grabbed his arm one time, how Wharton had coerced the sisters to be silent by threatening to kill one if the other made a noise, using their love for each other. Paul is unsure how to help John, but John tells him not to worry, as he is ready to die anyway, wanting to escape the cruelty of the world. John's execution is the last one in which Paul participates. He introduces Mr. Jingles to Elaine just before the mouse dies, having lived 64 years past these events, and explains that those healed by John gained an unnaturally long lifespan. Elaine dies shortly after, never learning how Paul's wife died in his arms immediately after they suffered a bus accident, and that he then saw John Coffey's ghost watching him from an overpass. Paul seems to be all alone, now 104 years old, and wondering how much longer he will live.
Paul Edgecombe — The protagonist and narrator of the book and the death-row supervisor at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. He is 40 years old when the main bulk of the story takes place, in 1932. He is a caring man and takes excellent care of the men on his block, avoiding conflict and keeping the peace whenever possible. He is the first character to discover John Coffey's amazing abilities, when the prisoner cures his urinary tract infection. It is also his idea to take Coffey to try to cure Melinda, Warden Hal Moores' wife, of her brain tumor. He transferred to Boy's Correctional with Brutus Howell shortly after Coffey's execution.
Brutus "Brutal" Howell — He is second in command on the Green Mile and Paul's best friend. He is a tall, imposing man but not violent at all unless necessary. His nickname of "Brutal" is intended as irony. A former football tackle who had gone on to play at Louisiana State University (LSU) in his youth, he eventually suffers a fatal heart attack at home, in his fifties, about twenty-five years after Coffey's execution.
John Coffey — He is a massive black man (6 ft 8 in tall), on death row for the alleged rape and murder of two young girls. He is very quiet and prefers to keep to himself, weeps almost constantly, and is afraid of the dark. Even at the end, during his execution, he asks Paul Edgecombe not to put on the traditional black silk mask used to block the view of the prisoner's face because he fears the dark. Coffey is described as "knowing his own name and not much else" and lacks the capability to do so much as tie a simple knot. However, he is convicted of luring the girls away from their home, disposing of the watchdog, carefully planning and using abilities he would otherwise not be expected to have. He is the calmest and mildest prisoner the guards have ever seen, despite his hulking form. He turns out to be innocent of what he is accused of, but chooses to die anyway.
Percy Wetmore — He is a young and sadistic guard. He is disliked by Paul and the other guards because of his ways, but they cannot do anything about it because he is the nephew of the governor's wife. He is very homophobic and attacks Eduard Delacroix for allegedly touching him, although it was an accident caused by Del stumbling out of the prison truck. He is later attacked by "Wild Bill" Wharton, consequently wets himself, and is teased by Delacroix for it. In retaliation, Percy deliberately sabotages Delacroix's execution. At the end of the story he is sent to the Briar Ridge mental institution, originally considered for a job but now as a patient, after Coffey transferred Melinda's disease to him which caused him to kill William Wharton. He eventually lives through a hospital fire and dies in 1965.
William "Wild Bill" Wharton — The antagonist of the story. He is on death row for various crimes. He does not like the nickname "Wild Bill" but prefers to be called "Billy the Kid", a name which he has tattooed on his forearm. When he first arrives he manages to convince the guards that he is in a drugged stupor, only to attack and attempt to strangle to death Dean Stanton when they reach E Block. He continues to wreak havoc on the Mile and plays tricks such as urinating on the guards, amongst other things. He is punished by being placed in solitary confinement, but never seems to learn his lesson. As John Coffey is being smuggled to Hal Moores's house, Wild Bill grabs his arm and Coffey sees that he actually committed the murders Coffey was accused of. Therefore, Coffey gives Percy the "sickness" he took from the warden's wife, causing him to kill Wharton.
Eduard "Del" Delacroix — He is a Cajun prisoner with a fairly slow grasp of the English language. He is incarcerated for multiple deaths due to a fire he started while trying to cover up his rape and murder of a young girl. While on the Mile, Del befriends a mouse named Mr. Jingles, who becomes his best friend in his last days on death row. Percy, his enemy, sabotages his execution, causing Del to die in a slow, gruesome death in the electric chair.
Mr. Jingles (nicknamed "Steamboat Willie") — An unusually intelligent mouse who enjoys eating peppermint sweets. He becomes a friend to Eduard Delacroix in the few days before the man is executed. He is resurrected by John Coffey after being stomped on by Percy Wetmore. This gives him increased longevity and he finally dies 64 years later.
Arthur "The President" Flanders — An inmate on death row, convicted of killing his father in an insurance-fraud scheme. His sentence is commuted to life imprisonment, but he is later murdered by an unknown inmate in the prison laundry.
Arlen "The Chief" Bitterbuck — A Washita Cherokee death-row inmate, convicted of killing a man in a drunken brawl over a pair of boots. His execution is the first of three mentioned in Paul's story.
Janice Edgecombe — Paul Edgecombe's wife. Dies in a bus accident on the way to her grandchild's graduation in 1956.
Hal Moores — The warden at Cold Mountain Penitentiary.
Melinda Moores — Warden Moores's wife, who is dying of a brain tumor and is cured by John Coffey. She eventually dies of a heart attack in 1943.
Curtis Anderson — The assistant warden.
Dean Stanton — A guard on E Block who is strangled and nearly killed by William Wharton. A father of young children, he takes no part in the taking of John Coffey to Melinda Moores due to the risk of losing his job. He applies for relocation to C Block after John Coffey's death, where he is murdered by an inmate 4 months later.
Harry Terwilliger — One of the main guards on E Block along with his friends Paul Edgecombe, Brutus Howell and Dean Stanton. He eventually dies of cancer, long after John Coffey's execution.
Bill Dodge — A "floater" guard on E Block (not permanently assigned there).
Jack Van Hay — A guard who is part of the execution team. He operates the switch room.
Toot-Toot — A trustee who stands in for the condemned during execution rehearsals and sells snacks to prisoners and guards.
Burt Hammersmith — A reporter who wrote on the Detterick twins' murders and John Coffey's trial. Despite believing himself to be an "Enlightenment" man, he displays prejudice in his stance on "Negroes" and tries to convince Paul of John Coffey's guilt.
Elaine Connelly — A friend of Paul in the present-day nursing home where he tells his story. She is later revealed to be the grandmother of the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, using this position to scare Brad Dolan from harassing Paul.
Homer Cribus — The Sheriff of Trapingus County, where the murders of the Detterick twins took place. Despite playing no part in apprehending John Coffey, he later shows up at the execution. An outspoken Baptist with strong racial prejudice and immensely overweight, he later succumbs to a heart attack while having sex with a 17-year-old African American in his office.
Rob McGee — The Deputy Sheriff of Trapingus County, who led the search party which found John Coffey. While displaying strong doubt about Coffey's guilt after being shown signs of innocence by Paul Edgecombe, he is still powerless to call for an appeal as he is subordinate to Sheriff Cribus, whom he allegedly hopes to succeed.
Brad Dolan — A malicious nursing home employee who harasses Paul Edgecombe. Paul strongly compares him to Percy Wetmore, and several times mistakes him for Percy, despite the latter dying in 1965.
Kathe and Cora Detterick — The two young girls whom John Coffey was convicted of raping and murdering. Killed by William Wharton.
Klaus and Marjorie Detterick — The parents of Kathe and Cora.
The Green Mile won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel in 1996. In 1997, The Green Mile was nominated as Best Novel for the British Fantasy Award and the Locus Award.
Frank Darabont adapted the novel into a screenplay for a feature film of the same name. Released in 1999, the film was directed by Darabont and starred Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecombe and Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey. The setting is changed from 1932 to 1935 in order to include the film Top Hat, which doesn't appear in the book.
