2003 novel by Audrey Niffenegger The time traveler’s wife has been adapted for the screen twice: as a film in 2009, and now as a television series on HBO.
The story of The time traveler’s wife – a sci-fi romance spanning decades – is extremely difficult to adapt. Clare Abshire (Rose Leslie) meets her future husband Henry DeTamble (Theo James) when he has inadvertently traveled back in time, at which point she is 6 and he is 36. The novel tells the story of their relationship out of chronological order. , including their first meeting in the “present” and their marriage.
Like any adaptation, screenwriter Steven Moffat’s new version of The time traveler’s wife you have to make some adjustments. But which ones work and which ones fail? Here are the biggest changes from the novel so far. Beware: the list includes spoilers for the show and the books.
A new framing device
Right off the bat, the first episode of The time traveler’s wife It hits us with a structural change. The series begins with Henry and Clare recording videos of themselves speaking directly into the camera about their relationship with time travel. This framing device is not in the novel, but Moffat uses this direct address to draw some prose directly from Niffenegger’s novel, specifically the prologue. Why are they making videos? Who are they talking to? Only time will tell.
We are updating this whole story.
The television version of The time traveler’s wife takes place from the 1990s to the present day, while the novel takes place from the 1960s to the early 2000s. This decision will likely make the story feel more relevant, but it will be interesting to see how ( and yes) the most modern technology impacts history.
The fight for Ingrid

This first date ends very differently in the book.
Credit: Macall Polay
Definitely the biggest change between the book and the show in the first episode is Clare’s reaction to finding out that Henry has a girlfriend, named Ingrid (Chelsea Frei). Clare finds Ingrid’s toiletries in Henry’s bathroom and fights with him, calling him a jerk and storming out of his apartment. Only an intervention from Henry’s older self causes Clare to consider seeing Henry again.
In the book, Clare’s reaction to seeing Ingrid’s things is much milder. She thinks, “Whoever you are, I’m here now. You may be Henry’s past, but I am his future.“Henry explains the situation with Ingrid and apologizes to Clare, and that’s it. Show Clare’s reaction is definitely more realistic than Book Clare’s, but the fight also puts Henry and Clare’s relationship on a much more antagonistic path.” .
Can Henry’s baby teeth travel through time?
Moffat adds a new time travel lore to The time traveler’s wife. In the show, parts of Henry’s body, like his baby teeth, can travel through time separately. The first episode also explores this idea with the one-two punch of a time-traveling pool of blood and a separate pair of time-traveling feet. These moments, all creations exclusive to the show, foreshadow the darkest moments in Henry’s future.
The time traveler’s wife airs on HBO and airs on HBO Max.
We’ll be updating this list weekly with the release of each new episode of The Time Traveler’s Wife, so be sure to check back for more on the differences between the book and the show.