Bunny Lake Is Missing is a 1957 novel by Merriam Modell

Merriam Modell

Merriam Modell was an American author of pulp fiction, who wrote under the pen-name 'Evelyn Piper'....

 (writing as Evelyn Piper) set in New York City.

Plot introduction

Blanche Lake, a 21 year old single mother, wants to collect her three year old daughter Bunny from her first day at crèche

Day care

Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...

 but finds out that she is not there. In the course of the ensuing night, she tries everything in her power to find out what has happened to her. Still before daybreak, she thinks she knows where Bunny is.

The plot takes place all within the space of 24 hours.

Adaptations

The novel was adapted for cinema in 1965 and the resultant film

Bunny Lake Is Missing

Bunny Lake Is Missing is a 1965 British psychological thriller film directed and produced by Otto Preminger, who filmed it in black and white widescreen format in London. It was based on the novel of the same name by Merriam Modell. The score is by Paul Glass and the opening theme is often heard as...

 was directed by Otto Preminger

Otto Preminger

Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...

 and starred Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...

, Carol Lynley

Carol Lynley

Carol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...

, Keir Dullea

Keir Dullea

Keir Dullea is an American actor best known for the character of astronaut David Bowman, whom he portrayed in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and in 1984's 2010: The Year We Make Contact...

, Martita Hunt

Martita Hunt

Martita Hunt was an English theatre and film actress.-Early life:Hunt was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 30 January 1900 to British parents Alfred and Marta Hunt...

 and Noel Coward

Noël Coward

Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...

.

A remake was being planned as of 2009.

Edition

• Evelyn Piper: Bunny Lake Is Missing, ed. Maria DiBattista (Femmes Fatales: Women Write Pulp) (The Feminist Press at The City University of New York: New York, 2004) (ISBN 1-55861-474-5).