Themed Lists

Our Favourite Literary Adaptations

The end of lockdown is fast approaching, and like us you may well be fretting over the fact that during the pandemic you’ve failed to learn a language, haven’t redecorated the spare bedroom, nor have you read any of those classics sitting on your shelf…

Well fear not, after watching some of Must TV’s best literary adaptations you’ll be able to blag it when it down the pub on April 12th. 

1 Season Netflix 6 x 60 mins
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single person in possession of a telly, must be in want of a cracking literary adaptation. So said Jane Austen in 1797, or at least, something along those lines. Regardless, if you’re looking for a lovely, literary period drama, then you needn’t look any further.
Score: 8.9
1 Season Netflix 6 x 45 mins
Netflix and true crime go together like murder and deceit. Their standalone series Alias Grace is an adaptation of the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, which is based on a true Canadian murder case from 1843.
Score: 8.5
2 Seasons Now, Sky 17 x 30 mins
If you've been pining for a bit of Neapolitan sunshine recently, you might have turned to Elena Ferrante’s hugely popular novels My Brilliant Friend. The first season of the TV adaptations aired last year to much acclaim. The good news is that season two is even better.
Score: 8.0
1 Season BBC iPlayer 12 x 30 mins
Voice of millennials Sally Rooney wowed readers with her 2018 novel, which now transfers to the screen. We might not be in normal times, but can Normal People flourish in this adaptation?
Score: 9.0
1 Season BBC iPlayer 6 x 60 mins
"Lavish", "sexy" and "epic". All words we hope critics will reach for when describing Must TV, and which they also used for the BBC's 2016 adaptation of Tolstoy's epic War and Peace featuring James Norton, Lily James and Paul Dano
Score: 8.9
3 Seasons Netflix 27 x 45 mins
Since its 1908 publication, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novel Anne of Green Gables has sold 50 million copies and has been translated into 36 languages. But the best translation by far is this one for the screen, which is picture perfect right down to its red plaited pigtails
Score: 8.4
1 Season Amazon Prime, BritBox 11 x 60 mins
This is a British telly classic, full of bumbling posh people parading round equally posh looking landscapes, and if you can look past all the snobbery and rah-ing, there’s a brilliant bit of period telly to go at here
Score: 8.0
8 Seasons Now, Sky 73 x 60 mins
For 8 years it was the telly event of the year, with viewing parties and Twitter storms a regular side dishes to the fantasy feast that aired each Sunday.
Score: 8.7
1 Season BBC iPlayer 13 x 25 mins
If the Fifties is more your thing than the Flirties, a classic BBC adaptation of a much-loved children's story could be for you and your kids.
Score: 8.1
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