We’re back with 4:50 from Paddington, and this week I want to take a look at how the BBC and iTV chose to adapt Lucy Eyelesbarrow. As a quick recap: Lucy Eyelesbarrow is one of my favorite Christie characters – a smart, independent woman who knows her strength in the domestic sphere and has the audacity to charge for it.
Lucy spends the novel pursued by basically every guy in shouting distance, and the ending implies that she ends up happy with one of them. But it leaves the “answer” of which one open to interpretation. And despite Miss Marple implying it’s “obvious”, the fanbase disagrees, with readers arguing for basically each of the options. Your interpretation of this relies as much on your personal preferences for story as on any textual basis – while Christie’s notes reveal her thinking, that’s not “canon” per se.
So of course, the adaptation teams at the BBC and iTV chose not to leave the story open-ended. Instead, each chose a different ending – and middle – and beginning for Lucy’s story. Talk about a perfect example for understanding the impact of adaption choices…
The setup
But before we get into the specifics of the adaptation choices, there’s some groundwork to do. I’d like to better establish Book Lucy and her story – at least the relevant / changed elements. This takes three different elements: Lucy herself, her suitors (also the suspects), and the final choice. In the original story, they combine to create an intriguingly proto-feminist character, the epitome of confident, competent, femininity.
Lucy Eyelesbarrow
I’ve already made my view on Lucy very clear, but it’s perhaps important and informative to discuss her framing in the story. Christie clearly writes her as a focal point in the story – her name is dropped as the cliffhanger to end Chapter 3, and the next few pages are spent emphasizing her skills and uniqueness. Importantly, this exposition is delivered as fact, not through character dialogue. Christie wants us to know that Lucy Eyelesbarrow is actually that impressive.
The suitors
There are, in the novel, effectively three suitors (plus the old Mr. Crackenthorpe, who seems mostly there to be unsettling). We’ve got Cedric, the untamed artist; Bryan Eastley, the ex-pilot, full of potential; and (potentially) D.I. Craddock, who clearly gets along well with Lucy and respects her intellect. The primary arguments for each are as follows:
- Cedric is clearly as much of a free spirit as Lucy and would offer her a challenge. She enjoys her conversations with him and thinks of him frequently.
- Bryan is a decent man and a father. His son, Alexander, also likes Lucy and the two are clearly attached. Bryan, an ex-war hero, could have a lot of potential if only someone could act as an “anchor.”
- Craddock is smart and respectful towards Lucy. Miss Marple likes them both and it would be pretty fun for her two detecting protégés to end up together.
On the cons side for each, we have:
- Cedric is perhaps not a great artist and kind of a sleaze when viewed at the right angle. It’s not clear that Lucy wouldn’t just be an interesting challenge for him to win (vs. someone she’d actually love).
- Bryan is perhaps a bit milquetoast. He’s boring. Nice, safe, but unambitious and maybe not driven enough for someone like Lucy.
- Craddock isn’t really ever on Lucy’s mind in the narration. But it sure seems like they should have chemistry!
The choice
The book ends with Miss Marple stating the choice is “obvious”, but fan have been debating this for years. Christie’s notes suggest that she prefers Cedric as a choice, but that’s not written in, so I’ll call it not-canon. It’s pretty clear how one’s perspective on the “obvious” choice reflects one’s own priorities and projection onto Lucy. Interesting, then, that both adaptation teams chose to draw a line in the sand here.
The BBC: a lackluster Lucy
We’ll start with the BBC, which differs from the above in a couple of ways. First, the intro: we first meet Lucy when she meets with Miss Marple, only getting the background / exposition from Miss Marple later. This is reflective of the general Lucy vibe in the BBC – while the action plays out similarly to the novel, this Lucy is a little less compelling. She shows her intelligence only until the men appear. Once Cedric and Bryan are in play, she seems to lose all agency, instead bouncing between the two as the romance plays out. With this floppy Lucy, it’s not even clear why someone like Cedric should be interested, except as a perverse power play…
…so that’s how the BBC plays it. Cedric spends his time generally being a creep and asshole – none of the rest of the family likes him. Contrast that to a generally cleaned-up Bryan – he’s pleasant and forthright and even gets to punch the bad guy at the end. This adaptation goes as far as to have Miss Marple opine to Cedric about why he lost Lucy. And D.I. is absolutely not an option, because the BBC has brought back the insufferable Inspector Slack.
It’s a bit disappointing, because this version of Lucy is a far cry from the magnetic personality described in the books. You can see that everyone is interested in her, but the text of the show makes it hard to understand why. Why does it matter if Cedric fails to win her over? The book version of Lucy would likely not be so swayed by a punch to a villain that she’d choose to give up her independence over it. But the BBC’s version does, and it’s a shame for a huge Lucy fan like me.
iTV: changing the game (as usual)
The iTV team always takes an interesting approach to adaptation, best summarized as adapting the spirit rather than the letter of the text (and then adding a bunch of random drama). When they get it right, the adaptation is super-compelling – but this depends on their ability to keep from adding distracting nonsense.
We can start with Lucy’s intro, which is extremely dramatic. Lucy’s opening scene features her singing along with Noël Coward, to the acclaim of various other British notables. Miss Marple interrupts this session – and Lucy stops to listen, which tells us as much about Lucy as it does about Miss Marple. This version of Lucy is talented, valued, and appreciated from the start.
As for the suitors – Cedric is basically taken out of the picture. That leaves us with a handsome, charming, and American Bryan, and a respectfully intelligent Inspector Tom. Both have wonderful qualities, and both push Lucy in different, potentially appealing directions. Bryan is perhaps a bit dumb, but very sweet and clearly devoted to her happiness. She’d likely be able to use her skills just as well with Bryan, and maybe even keep up the business. Tom is less wealthy, but a clear intellectual equal who comes with the recommendation of Miss Marple herself.
By the end, I would have been happy with either choice. Lucy could have chosen to find joy in an adopted family, or in a less luxurious life with an engaging detective. (In the final scene, Bryan literally shows up in a tuxedo compared to Tom’s suit.) The iTV team makes it clear that Lucy gets the choice – and she chooses the Inspector, mind over comfort. It’s interesting to reflect how much that simple switch affects our understanding of Lucy’s story – whether she’s already fulfilled or searching for fulfillment.
Endings matter
It’s an interesting adaption situation. The author wrote a vague ending and two different adapters chose to make it less ambiguous. The differences in choice – and how they reflect our understanding of Lucy Eyelesbarrow – emphasize the importance of an ending. I can imagine that writing a Lucy who accepts Bryan is quite different from writing a Lucy that chooses Tom.
It’s also interesting to see how Christie’s own intentions landed for modern adapters. While it’s now well-known that Christie intended Cedric as Lucy’s ultimate love interest, both adaptations nixed him pretty completely as an option. The BBC made him a total sleaze; iTV made him a bad artist (and kind of whiny about it). Time and values change, and both teams wrote their way out of the “taming” storyline (for which I, personally, am grateful). Perhaps Christie was wise to leave the ending vague…
As I wax poetic about endings, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the end of 6 months of The Cozy Owlet! When I first started this blog, I’d have given even odds on whether I’d make it this far. I certainly wouldn’t have thought that I’d write 50+ posts this quickly! And yet – here I am, reading better, writing a ton, and learning so much. Whether you’re just finding me or you’ve stuck with me since the beginning – thanks for being along for the ride.
I’ll see you back here soon for more mystery and general mayhem. Until then – stay cozy, and stay curious!
