Opal Whiteley - Reprints, Adaptations, and Productions

Reprints, Adaptations, and Productions

The diary was reprinted in 1962 with a lengthy foreword by E. S. Bradburne (Elizabeth Lawrence), as Opal Whiteley, the Unsolved Mystery. It was reprinted in 1986 with a biography and foreword by Benjamin Hoff, and again, with a new afterword, in 1994. Lawrence's version has been reissued in an expanded edition as Opal Whiteley, the Mystery Continues.

Hoff's reprint of the journal contains a detailed account of his research into Opal's life and the origins of her diary, and supplies evidence that concludes that the diary was authentically created in childhood, but he disbelieved Whiteley's claims of her adoption.

Though the U.S. copyright of her diary has lapsed, the international copyright is still extant and is held by the library of the University of London. The full dramatic rights to the diary are held by Robert Lindsey-Nassif, author of the Off-Broadway musical Opal, which won the Richard Rodgers and AT&T Awards.

In 1984 an adaptation of her diary was published by Jane Boulton as Opal: The Journal of an Understanding Heart.

The diary was adapted into an Off-Broadway musical by Robert Lindsey-Nassif, opening in New York in 1992, published by Samuel French, Inc.

The international copyright to the diary is still in effect and is controlled by the Librarian of the University of London.

Opal's book, The Fairyland Around Us, of which only several original copies are known to exist, was transcribed and reproduced on a website in 1999 by David A. Caruso.

Author Peter Rock indicates Opal Whiteley’s nature diaries as an inspiration for his 2009 novel My Abandonment, quoting her in the opening page. Rock’s novel tells the story of a father and daughter living in an Oregon nature preserve.

In March 2010 Oregon Public Broadcasting aired in-house documentary Oregon Experience: Opal Whiteley.

Opal, a narrative feature film inspired by the life of Opal Whiteley and directed by Dina Ciraulo, premiered in the 2010 Mill Valley Film Festival. It had a week-long theatrical run at the Bijou Art Cinemas in Eugene, Oregon.

In Jerry Rust’s 2011 novel The Covered Bridge Murders, Opal Whiteley is featured as a character in the plot.