The Nurse Matilda books were written by the British children's author Christianna Brand (1907–1988) and illustrated by her cousin, Edward Ardizzone.
The Brown children are "exceedingly naughty" and frighten off many governesses in wonderfully mischievous ways – until Nurse Matilda comes.
In Brand's stories, Mrs. Brown is alive and well, whereas in the first film she is dead, having fallen ill after the birth of the youngest child, Agatha.
Mr. Brown is being forced to marry the foul Selma Quickly, a garishly clothed, thrice-widowed gold-digger, whose character did not appear in the books.
[3] It was announced on April 12, 2018, that Emma Thompson would direct a stage musical based on her film Nanny McPhee,[4] with it previously set to open in the West End in 2023.