With all of us spending a lot more time indoors, the last year has seen a dramatic boom in consumption of television programmes across the globe. This has highlighted a number of binge-worthy well-known – as well as some less well-known – television series which are based on equally binge-worthy novels. In this blog we want to highlight some of these series, and hope that we can inspire you to give the books a go yourself!
This highly acclaimed collaboration by the BBC and HBO is based on the famed series of the same name, by Philip Pullman. The story centres around a young girl, Lyra, and a world of daemons and phantasmagorical creatures. Whilst the series is indeed excellent, it is hard to beat the descriptive mastery of Pullman, so we would highly recommend giving the books a go!
This 1986 Booker Prize nominee by Margaret Atwood has been celebrated for decades as one of the most inspired explorations of the dystopian genre. Based in a fictional futuristic version of the United states, it follows a young victim of this new society, Offred, and her attempts to navigate this awful existence and find freedom. The television adaptation stars Elizabeth Moss, and has won numerous awards, including Best Actress at the Emmys for Moss.
We cannot begin to discuss television adaptations of novels without giving an honourable mention to the iconic 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The story is known almost universally, but this version has endured as the ultimate adaptation of Austen’s iconic work. If you have read the book, then give the television series a try. If you haven’t read the book, then the only question is why not!
Like Pride and Prejudice, Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic series of Sherlock Holmes novels has been adapted numerous times into plays, films, and television series. One of the most innovative and interesting adaptations is without doubt BBC One’s, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Set in the modern day, they bring the magic and mystery of Doyle’s novels into a new age, with superb writing, direction and acting. Any fan of the books or of the murder mystery genre in general should be sure to give this series a watch!
This thrilling tale of espionage and secrecy is a classic from John le Carré. Adapted for television in 2016 by Susanne Bier, this acclaimed series stars Olivia Colman and Tom Hiddleston. Any fan of spy stories should be sure to check out both the book and television series.
As with all of our recommendations for television and film, we would highly recommend reading all the books above before watching their on-screen adaptation! If you just can’t find the time, however, each one of these is a fantastic series in its own right, and certainly well worth a watch.
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