How faithful is the BBC’s Elizabeth Is Missing to the book?

Oscar winner and former Minister of Labor Glenda Jackson returns to television for the first time in 25 years to play Alzheimer’s Maud in BBC One drama Elizabeth Is Missing, adapted from the bestselling book Emma Healey of the same name.

The 90-minute drama and book follow Maud as she tries to unravel the mystery of where her best friend Elizabeth went – as memories of her 70-year-missing sister Sukey (Sophie Rundle) begin. to flock like her. the condition worsens. But what changes have been made and what has been cut from the book? Here’s everything you need to know about the differences between the book Elizabeth Is Missing and the BBC One drama…

1. Does Maud have Alzheimer’s disease in the book?

Throughout Emma Healey’s novel, we don’t know what Maud’s degenerative state is, because the reader only has clues and her various symptoms (her forgetfulness, her fits of violence).

However, in the series, it is made clear that Maud has Alzheimer’s disease (a form of dementia), a deliberate choice made by the show’s creative team, including screenwriter Andrea Gibb and producer. executive Sarah Brown, who revealed on the BBC screening that they had consulted with dementia charities. about what Maud’s specific condition might be – and that her aggression was the key to diagnosing her.

Many people with Alzheimer’s disease “start behaving in ways that are not normal for them. These can include becoming restless (for example, being very agitated or pacing), calling, repeating the same question, having disturbed sleep patterns or reacting aggressively, ”according to the Alzheimer Society page.

2. Who is the “mad woman” that Maud remembers?

In the television series, Maud remembers the local “mad woman” who appeared to have witnessed key events surrounding her sister’s disappearance in 1949.

In the book, however, the Mad Woman takes on greater emotional significance as (spoiler alert for readers!) She is revealed to be the traumatized mother of Douglas, the tenant living with Maud’s family and who inexplicably turned away. snuck in to feed someone – not Sukey, as Young Maud initially suspects, but the madwoman. It is only when the Mad Woman dies in an accident that Douglas reveals his true parentage.

3. Is Maud attracted to her brother-in-law Frank?

In the BBC adaptation, young Maud begins dressing in her older sister’s more adult outfits after Sukey’s disappearance, before sharing a moment of tension with her brother-in-law and black market merchant Frank , when he almost pushes her out of a staircase – before grabbing her at the last moment.

These are two scenes that suggest a strange relationship between Maud and Frank in the books, which begins after Sukey’s disappearance. Frank visits Maud often, begging her to recall memories with Sukey, before starting to turn his attention to Maud herself, often referring to the similar looks of the two sisters. In the end, she marries someone else, but in the book, she admits that she was tempted at one point to start a romantic relationship with Frank.

4. Maud and her family are looking for the missing sister Sukey.

In the book, we see a lot more about Maud and her family in search of Sukey after her disappearance in 1949, especially that of her father, who goes around all of the neighbor’s houses, begging them to remember the events that take place. led to the disappearance of his daughter. . On the show, we only see Maud and Sukey’s parents in brief flashbacks.

5. Funny moments turn into tragic moments

There’s a comedic moment in Healey’s book where Maud mistakes her granddaughter, Katy, for her daughter Helen’s lazy employee, pointing out that she never does housework, which Helen finds hilarious.

However, in the TV series, the moment of oblivion is transformed into one of the drama’s most upsetting and memorable scenes. While in the book it’s just a mother and daughter exchange, in the on-screen drama Katy is present when her grandmother forgets who she is and becomes in tears, while Maud lashes out and finally Helen yells at her mother, defending Katy.

Elizabeth Is Missing airs at 9 / 8c on Sunday January 3, 2021 on PBS Masterpiece in the US

Elizabeth Is Missing airs Sunday 8th December 2019 on BBC One in the UK