21 Book to Movie Adaptations
There are hundreds of books made into movies; some movies that you’ve seen you may not have realized at the time were first based on a piece of literature. Some of the most critically acclaimed movies were adaptations from books (Gone with the Wind, Forrest Gump, The Godfather, West Side Story, etc.). In fact, more than two-thirds of all Oscar winners were first a piece of literature.
I absolutely love reading a book and following it up with its movie counterpart. I enjoy finding the differences in the plot, characters, and content and comparing my imagination to the director’s vision of the same story. This enjoyment stemmed from when I was twelve years old and read Tuck Everlasting. My Dad took me to see the movie in theaters, and to my surprise, the movie was lacking details from the book. From this moment on, I was obsessed with book to movie adaptations.
Here are a few of my favorite book to movie adaptations.
CLASSICS
GREAT GATSBY: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel of eccentric millionaire Jay Gatsby, as told by his modest neighbor Nick Caraway. This beloved novel captures the mood of the roaring 1920s: America obsessed with wealth and status.
THE PRINCESS BRIDE: William Goldman’s novel on a fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: Harper Lee’s novel about attorney Atticus Finch, who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of a black man unjustly accused of rape. Told through the eyes of Scout Finch, the daughter of Atticus.
ABOUT WOMEN, BY WOMEN
LITTLE WOMEN: Louisa May Alcott’s novel surrounding Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March; four sisters living with their mother in New England. Their father is away serving as a chaplain in the Civil War, and the sisters struggle to support themselves.
EMMA: Jane Austen’s novel surrounding a young woman who is convinced she will never marry but believes she is naturally gifted in conjuring love matches. In addition to the movie with the same title, Clueless is also based on the 1815 novel.
SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS: Ann Brashares novel that follows four best girlfriends and their first summer apart. Over the summer apart, they gain a deeper understanding of the importance of friendship and how much they rely on it in every aspect of their lives.
SUSPENSEFUL
REBECCA: Daphne Du Maurier’s novel about a woman who marries an English nobleman and returns with him to Manderley, his country estate. There, she finds herself haunted by reminders of his first wife, Rebecca.
FRANKENSTEIN: Mary Shelley’s novel tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a promising young doctor who becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life.
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY: Oscar Wilde’s novel that follows Dorian Gray; handsome, young, but morally corrupt. As the years pass by he does not age, but evidence of his sins are obvious in a portrait of himself.
LOVE NEW(ER)
ONE DAY: David Nicholls’ novel that follows Emma and Dexter, two people from opposite sides of the tracks who begin a lifelong friendship. For the next 20 years, the two friends reunite on the 15th of July.
SOMETHING BORROWED: Emily Giffin’s novel surrounding Rachel, a successful attorney and a loyal friend, who unexpectedly falls into bed with her longtime crush, who happens to be engaged to her best friend
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS: Sara Gruen’s novel follows Jacob, a veterinary student with nowhere else to go, who joins a traveling circus. Jacob meets Marlena, a beautiful circus performer, and the two of them share love and compassion for an elephant named Rosie.
LOVE OLD(ER)
WUTHERING HEIGHTS: Emily Bronte’s novel revolves around the passionate and destructive love between the beautiful Catherine and the handsome Heathcliff.
ATONEMENT: Ian McEwan’s novel that follows the lives of young lovers Cecilia and Robbie. When the couple is torn apart by a lie constructed by Cecilia’s jealous younger sister, all three of them must deal with the devastating consequences
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: Jane Austen’s novel surrounding the five Bennet daughters, none of whom are married. Enter Mr. Bingley, a rich, single man who moves into their neighborhood and takes a liking to the eldest daughter, Jane.
MOM and DAUGHTER
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES: Sue Monk Kidd’s novel about 14-year-old Lily Owens. Haunted by memories of her late mother and abused by her father, Lily runs away with her caregiver Rosaleen to the South Carolina town that holds the key to her mother’s past.
DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD: Rebecca Wells’ novel which follows a group of lifelong friends who stage a rather unorthodox intervention to help a young playwright unravel the truth about her complicated, eccentric mother, find forgiveness and acceptance, and let go of her painful past.
THE JOY LUCK CLUB: Amy Tan’s novel explores cultural conflict and the often-turbulent relationships between four first-generation Chinese-American women and their mothers.
FROM CHILDHOOD
TUCK EVERLASTING: Natalie Babbitt’s novel that follows Winnie who, when lost in the woods near her home, meets Jesse Tuck, a boy, unlike anyone she’s ever met before. Jesse’s family holds a powerful secret, and Winnie must decide whether to return to her life or stay with the Tucks.
CINDERELLA: Charles Perrault and The Brothers Grimm: told and retold many times throughout history, this fairytale follows the beautiful and kind, Cinderella.
CHARLOTTE’S WEB: E.B. White’s novel that follows the life of Wilbur, a piglet whose life was saved by the farmer’s daughter, Fern. Eventually, Wilbur meets and befriends Charlotte, a gray spider.
NEWEST
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS: John Green’s novel about Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old cancer patient, who meets and falls in love with Gus Waters, a similarly afflicted teen from her cancer support group.
ME BEFORE YOU: Jojo Moyes novel on young and quirky Louisa Clark, who is put to the test with her cheerful attitude when she becomes a caregiver for Will Traynor, a wealthy young man left paralyzed from an accident two years prior.
THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE: Audrey Niffenegger’s novel follows Henry, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder that causes him to drift uncontrollably back and forth through time. On one of his time travels, he meets the love of his life, Claire.
Leave a comment below with your favorite book to the movie adaptation!
