Editing A Letter to Three Wives (section)

==Differences between novel and film==
{{original research|section|date=February 2024}}
John Klempner's novel was titled ''A Letter to Five Wives'', but two wives were dropped in the transition to the screen.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |date=1948-06-21 |title=Paul Henreid Likely Star in Monarch Role |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=17}}</ref> Joseph L. Mankiewicz intended for the fourth wife to be the granddaughter of the state's governor but said "we never got around to her."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Scheuer |first=Philip K. |date=1949-02-13 |title=Mankiewicz Sees New Film Targets After Dissecting Home and Marriage |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |pages=1, 3 (Part IV)}}</ref>

All of the major characters differ substantially between the novel and film, as do the nature of the problems with their marriages. In the novel, Lora May is not a gold-digger but a woman who has always been dominated by her wealthy husband; Rita is trying to succeed in a second marriage with a man about whom she has never felt passionate; and Deborah is a former [[spinster]] whose husband is disappointed by her lack of success in society. The two wives who do not appear in the film are Martha, who argues with her husband about child-rearing issues, and Geraldine, who devotes herself to her singing career with meager results.

The novel also provides no indication that any of the couples will work through their problems, and the identity of the unfaithful husband is different from that within the film, although his rationale is the same.