British Period Drama Book-to-Film Adaptations
With so many of us disappointed in the latest Jane Austen film adaptation (“Persuasion” on Netflix, I too would like a word with the screenwriters), this previous English Lit major thought I would round up some of my favorites and delve into what makes a successful adaptation vs ‘inspired by’.
Like so many of your, I adore a good British period drama (well most countries, really) - both books and films. I have rewatched versions of ‘Pride & Prejudice’, ‘Jane Eyre’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’ more times than is healthy. And while I am not a 'purist’, there is a big difference between a film using the plot for new of modern story, and an adaptation which uses both story, characters and conversations, but can shorten or delete scenes and change creative direction. Unfortunately for this latest version of ‘Persuasion’, the cast and setting (Bath, UK) were great, but not only did that attempt to break the fourth wall ‘fleabag’ style, and inexplicably change Austen’s plot and words to modern slang (“he’s a 10”, “I’m an empath”, “I’m single & thriving”) but they fundamentally changed the lead character - this lead to a confused interpretation that dumbed down what was originally an interesting story. This isn’t Bridgerton (which was still fun, but a modern-written story set in a period drama setting), it’s Austen, and the stories have proven to be just as compelling on their own in these modern times, hence us getting new films every few years. It was different enough to be ‘inspired by’ and was oddly too altered to be an adaptation. So let’s revisit some 18th and 19th century classics today, I’ll leave the Shakespeare, American writers and 20th century lit for another day.
A selection of classic 18th & 19th century British Literature film adaptations with female leads:
Emma by Jane Austen (1775-1817): Many movie versions over the years, but both the 1995 version starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Nothman and Ewan McGregor, and the recent stylized version of 2020 starring Anya Taylor-Joy are both fun and lighthearted romps. The 1996 BBC version starring a very young Kate Beckinsale is pretty good too.
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen: There have been so many adaptations, but the most beloved version is perhaps the 1995 BBC version starring Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Mr.Darcy (who was later cast in the Bridget Jones movies for the same reason). The newer 2005 version starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen is gorgeous too, with lush settings and stylized direction.
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen: The best version is definitely by Emma Thompson from 1995, who also won an Oscar for the screenplay, and stars a young Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant and more.
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen: One of the few Austen adaptations directed by a woman (1999), this film elaborates on darker, more menacing themes, such as slavery, and female subjugation, starring Frances O'Connor as Fanny Price.
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: The most recent version of this ‘gothic parody’ is the 2007 British television film adaptation starring some up and comers at the time - Felicity Jones, JJ Field, Carey Mulligan and more
Love & Friendship by Jane Austen: Based on Jane Austen's epistolary novel Lady Susan, fully imagined into a full story circa 2016 and starring the charming Kate Beckinsale, and her friend Chloë Sevigny.
Persuasion by Jane Austen. The latest version from Netflix starring Dakota Johnson is NOT it, as it butchers the characters and text. Go for the 1995 BBC miniseries starring Amanda Root as the heroine Anne Elliot, or the 2007 film starring Sally Hawkins
Sanditon by Jane Austen: The new PBS Masterpiece Sanditon series based on Austen’s unfinished manuscript, they have done a good job to stay faithful to the spirit of Jane’s writing and characters, with another strong independent female lead.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1818-1848): My goodness, there have been so many versions of this. It really comes down to the chemistry between the actors playing Heathcliff and Catherine (just look at this screenrant/IMDB ranking). Personally, I find the 2009 version starring Charlotte Riley and Tom Hardy was particularly electric (the couple later married).
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855): Another movie with a million adaptations, there as been some very different perspectives of Jane. The most recent 2011 version was visually stunning and dark as intended was directed by Cary Fukunaga and starred Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, though the 1996 film starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and William Hurt is also very good. A version that took a very different, sexual-energy direction was the 2006 miniseries starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens.
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928): Also often adapted, but this 2015 movie starring Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts is gorgeous, worth a watch
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863): This has traditionally been a tough one to adapt, and so the 2004 version starring Reese Witherspoon did not particularly fair well.
North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865): Romance in an unromantic industrial setting, the North and South (2004) four part adaptation of Gaskell's love story of Margaret Hale, a middle class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton.
Good Modern Films Inspired by classic literature & plays for plots or characters:
Shakespeare in love - Original, Oscar-winning movie based on a young William Shakespeare himself
Dickinson - Witty original series on Apple+ about Emily Dickinson’s early years, so set in a time period, but completely new and modern text. It’s intelligent and feels fresh
Bridget Jones Diary - Inspired by Austen’s Pride & Prejudice
Clueless - Inspired by Austen’s Emma
Roxanne - Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (1868-1918)
Cruel Intentions - Inspired by Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1741-1803)
10 Things I hate about you - Inspired by Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew (*There are so many of these, but that is for another post)