What Happens To Cruella De Vil In The Original Novel?

Seen the movies, but nobody talks about the actual book version. Does Cruella get any backstory or a different ending in Dodie Smith's original 101 Dalmatians novel?
2026-07-28 16:45:32
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11 Answers

Best Answer
Norita Escobar
Norita Escobar
In Dodie Smith’s original story, The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Cruella de Vil is defeated by the dogs and their owners but not killed. Instead she is left financially ruined and left to comment that she will be back in the sequel. Her down fall is a great way to show a powerful and vengeful antagonist getting caught out by circumstances that were beyond her control. I think this is similar to what happened in ‘The Cursed Alpha’s Fate’. A powerful and brutal werewolf alpha was trying to control circumstances but in the end his attempt to control the prophecy ended up being his downfall. It is a great story and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read about a powerful and feared villain getting brought down from within.
2026-07-30
Kimberly
Kimberly
One of the most memorable characters of all time is Cruella De Vil. Her vicious desire to turn Dalmatian puppies into a fur coat in order to wear it is outdone only by her incompetence at eventually failing in her plans. In Dodie Smith’s book, The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Cruella is just as hideous, wicked and bizarre as she is in other adaptations of the book and films. However, her come-uppance is somewhat different. Instead of being snatched by the authorities while attempting to slip on the piel Dalmatians’ fur coats, Cruella is foiled by Pongo and Missis Dalmatian. She slinks away in ignominy, her evil plans scuppered. Rumors are later spread by the proud parents that the villainous woman has slunk off to a dilapidated house in the country. It makes sense really, for sometimes the greatest villainy of all is left to be. They just disappear into obscurity.

One thing that Cruella is in the book is very, very, very odd. Smith describes her with great detail and paints her as a rather unusual figure with her wild hair, her cigarette holder and her strange laugh. Although her fate isn’t quite as dramatic as it could have been, in a way this is more realistic than having her get what she deserves in the end. Real evil often just fizzles out rather than having a big explosion.
2026-07-29
Kathleen Lax
Kathleen Lax
An important point that the book shows no possibility of Cruella returning to the world of the story. This fixes a secure boundary and allows the heroes of the story to live happily after and the reader to feel secure that they can live in peace without any fear of her returning.

The puppies can grow up in peace, raised by their parents in safety. The reader can be left in no doubt that Cruella is gone for good, her exile being as absolute as a death sentence; but without the horror or violence of that event being described. It is a very satisfactory solution for a children’s book.
2026-07-30
carriehillis0828
carriehillis0828
Pongo and Missis never have a confrontation with Cruella de Vil in the original story. Instead, they rescue all the puppies and leave for their happy home with their new family. Cruella’s downfall is told to the reader by gossip heard by Pongo and Missis from other humans.

By keeping the dogs’ story strictly a rescue and family story, Dodds keeps the focus where it belongs: with Pongo and Missis and the puppies. Their complete and heroic journey ends with the return of their family to their home. While the readers can learn of the downfall of Cruella de Vil through human gossip, her punishment is after the fact, left to the human world where it clearly belongs. It’s perfect for the book.
2026-07-30
Riley
Riley
I was quite shocked when reading ‘The Hundred and One Dalmatians’ as a child. While Disney had portrayed Cruella de Vil in a rather comedic light, in the actual book she is portrayed in a far darker manner. In the book she is a fur obsessed addict. The way she is dealt with at the end of the book is very strange also. After the puppies from the litter escape from her fur farm (which is far more disturbing in the novel than the film) she doesn’t get her comeuppance in some poetic way. Instead she just disappears from the story.

It’s also fascinating to read the original Ms De Vil in the book as she is depicted as a force of nature rather than a normal person. As often is the case with the real-life villains, they can bring about so much chaos but in the end, nothing seems to happen to them and they just burn out. I initially was quite miffed that there wasn’t a tidier conclusion to Cruella in the book but reading between the lines, her decay into her crumbling old house must be quite something.
2026-07-30
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