Executive producer / writer Sarah Polley first tried to acquire the rights to the novel Alias Grace when the book came out in 1996. It took Sarah Polley a little over 20 years to bring this miniseries to its fruition.
In order to promote the series, over 70 copies of the book Alias Grace - along with a small note from author Margaret Atwood - were hidden throughout Canada prior to the series' premiere on Sept. 25, 2017.
The original novel is based on factual events, but it's historical fiction. Several characters, including Dr. Simon Jordan, were created by author Margaret Atwood.
In the novel, it is stated that Grace's trial begins on November 3rd. The series aired on Netflix on November 3rd
Grace shows Dr. Jordan her patchwork square and explains the log cabin represents the home, while "the center is always red, for the hearth." It is traditional to have the center of log cabin blocks red for the hearth or the heart, but it is not required, as seen in the next flashback a few seconds later when Grace and Mary are airing out the quilts of the Parkinson household. The quilt seen on the right of the screen is a log cabin pattern, made with dark/light patches like Grace's, without the red centers.