Compare/Contrast Book vs Show

[Scarlett45]

Quote

Set in the Victorian era, in the year 1893, it tells the tale of Cora Seaborne, a woman relishing her recent freedom from an abusive husband, who moves from London to a small village in Essex and becomes intrigued by the idea that it might be haunted by a mythological sea serpent.

Here you may discuss the 2016 novel by Sarah Perry, and how it compares to the series. 
 

 

[blackwing]

After having finished the series, I was curious about how closely this series followed the book so I looked up the Wikipedia entry, and wow, there are some huge differences (assuming the plot summary is accurate).  I will put in spoilers just in case.

• Spoiler

  • There are no deaths/murders of villagers (still never fully explained by series' end)
  • Martha is not a lesbian but instead is in love with Luke
  • Martha is not a socialist and Ambrose is just a friend of Cora's an not an MP who is resistant to change
  • Stella is still alive at the end of book, although she is dying
  • Will continues to care for her, while Cora seems to continue to pursue him

It just seems so odd to me that one of the key elements of the TV show was changed so drastically from the book.  I guess the TV producers thought the series would be more engrossing if there was

Spoiler

some kind of murder mystery element to it.

Unfortunately, I think the TV show failed since we never got the answer.

[Rickster]

Having finished the book, although I have not seen the last episode yet, I was puzzled that they chose to make it into a TV series,  since nothing really happens in it. The author had a note at the end of it which seems to imply the purpose was to depict an accurate portrait of Victorian life. I’d suspect a number of the changes made in the TV series were to make it more plot driven, whether by monsters, murder or romance. One point in particular that seemed to upset posters here that was different in the book:

Spoiler

The sex on the marsh doesn’t happen at the point it does in the TV show. A sexual encounter does happen later, outdoors, between Will and Cora, but it isn’t clear exactly how far it goes (the book is coy in a few points about sex). But yes, his wife is still alive but dying.

I think the show turns out to fail in trying to bridge the tone of the novel with creating a more interesting plot.