I'm Reading the Original Novel

Having seen this recently, I discovered that the original novel by Nicholas Monsarrat is still in my Public Library system, so I requested it. I just finished it this evening, and there are some interesting differences from the film adaptation:

Crawford's character is named Belle Bannister in the novel, a wealthy socialite whose father did very well after relocating his family to the U.S. when Belle was a child.
Her estranged husband is a ne'er-do-well British 'captain' who knew a good thing when he had it, and turns up again when he senses another good thing. "Belle" is much less sympathetic than "Margaret" - while her intentions are certainly honest and good at the outset, Belle herself is not above skimming the cream of collected monies for her efforts, and is knowingly complicit in the philanthropic exploitation of Esther that her husband suggests. Although Esther does regain her sight, hearing and speech as a result of being raped by Belle's husband (as in the film), the novel plays out much differently than the film (with its' noble, soap-opera ending): Esther is forced to deceive the public for a time. When reporter Harry Grant is about to blow the lid off the whole enterprise, things take a tragic turn of events, most likely with the intervention of Belle Bannister, but nothing can be proved absolutely. She then goes on to continue exploiting the memory of Esther Costello.

Crawford was perfectly capable of playing a tough character such as Belle, but the character was made considerably more sympathetic for the film.

"Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke."