29 of the best book adaptations of all time

The book might be better, but these adaptations come pretty close to capturing the original magic.

Hollywood has turned to books for inspiration for more than a century, adapting both classic literature and contemporary favorites. Sure, it's easy to say that the book is better (and, often, it is), but plenty of movies and TV shows have put in the work to adapt their original source material appropriately for a new medium.

Some books, like Harper Lee's beloved To Kill a Mockingbird, have an equally beloved film adaptation. Others undergo multiple cinematic variations, such as Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, with readers and viewers preferring one over another. Here are our picks for the best book-to-screen adaptations of all time, and why they got them so right.

Emma and Emma. (2020)

For all the thousands (we exaggerate) of adaptations of Jane Austen's novel out there, we should be truly fed up with seeing Emma on our screens, and yet, 2020's entry starring Anya Taylor-Joy and directed by Autumn de Wilde is as delightful as it is familiar. There's a modern feel to de Wilde's adaptation which makes Austen's original sharp social satire a tad less pronounced, but the story becomes all the funnier and more frivolous for it. And yet, overall, it's all still as charmingly chaotic as the source material intended. Taylor-Joy's interpretation of Emma is what really sets the movie apart, as she somehow makes the titular character even more unapologetically unlikable at times. Emma herself couldn't have made a better match. —Ruth Kinane

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln (2012)

As the credits for Steven Spielberg's Lincoln note, the film is only "based in part" on Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin's immense biography of the 16th president (played on screen by Daniel Day-Lewis in an Oscar-winning performance) and three of his political opponents–turned–cabinet members. Most of Lincoln's running time dramatizes only a few pages of the tome, homing in on the president's shady maneuvers to pass the 13th Constitutional Amendment, which abolished slavery in the U.S., through Congress.

But watching Lincoln after reading Team of Rivals (or vice versa), you'll be struck by how dexterously the film integrates details from throughout the book, with Lincoln's convoluted reasoning for the Emancipation Proclamation's legality, his relationships with his wife Mary (Sally Field) and Secretary of State William Seward (David Strathairn), and his habit of telling folksy stories and jokes (many transposed from page to screen near-verbatim) being just a few examples. A book and its adaptation rarely make such splendid companion pieces. —Tyler Aquilina

Room and Room (2015)

The 2010 captivity novel didn't need all the magic of filmmaking to deliver a truly tense tale. Anyone who's read the book knows all too well the feeling of anxiously racing through the pages, equal parts excited and afraid. When the movie adaptation hit the screens five years later, that breathless unease was just as present, forcing moviegoers to the very edge of their seats. As unsettling as it is heart-wrenching, both the book and movie (adapted by author Emma Donoghue) pull the reader or viewer into the story's dark, cramped space as suffocating as Room itself, before setting them loose into a bright, hopeful, open place — dazed yet still slightly on guard. —R.K.

The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries (2001)

Whether on the page or on screen, we want to be best friends with Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia. What can we say? She's funny; she ends up in swoony romances; and, oh yeah, she's a freaking princess! In both the book and the film, Mia is a geeky 16-year-old who finds her life upended by the revelation that she is the princess of a small European principality. The film offers a winning early-career Anne Hathaway opposite the always elegant Julie Andrews as her grandmother. The book's grand-mère is more callous than charismatic, but she's balanced out by the laugh-out-loud humor of Mia's diary entries. Both page and screen offer the crowning jewel of great storytelling: plenty of heart. They're a truly regal Genovian pair. —Maureen Lee Lenker

Related: The most irresistible Hollywood novels

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Author Ken Kesey reputedly disliked the 1975 film adaptation of his 1962 novel, putting him decidedly in the minority: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest became only the second movie in history to win the "Big Five" Oscars (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay) and remains a hallowed classic to this day. The film is dominated by Jack Nicholson's rambunctious McMurphy, who attempts to lead a mental hospital's patients in rebellion against the tyrannical Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher).

The book is an altogether different experience, narrated by the seemingly deaf and mute "Chief" Bromden and colored by Kesey's experiences working at a mental institution (and his experiences with psychedelic drugs). They're both well worth your while — and both will haunt you well after you've finished them. —T.A.

I, Tina and What's Love Got to Do With It (1993)

Let's just get this out of the way first: Tina Turner herself was not a fan of What's Love Got to Do With It, the adaptation of her autobiography I, Tina. But to ignore Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne's performances is to miss out on some of the most taut energy ever caught on screen, in roles that earned them both Oscar nominations. Between the movie and Turner's book (her follow-up Tina Turner: My Love Story is also worth a read), readers and viewers get a sense of how much story-building goes into the myth of rock royalty's biggest stars. —Sarah Sprague

The Age of Innocence and The Age of Innocence (1993)

Edith Wharton's Pulitzer-winning novel sings on the page, the author's deliciously wry prose painting the world of late-1800s, upper-class New York in vivid detail. In Martin Scorsese's hands, the remarkably faithful 1993 adaptation sings on screen as well, with those vivid details coming to life through sumptuous production design, costumes, and cinematography. Oh, and there's the story, of course: High-society lawyer Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) finds himself irresistibly drawn to his fiancée's cousin, Ellen (Michelle Pfeiffer), a free-spirited opposite to Archer's bride-to-be (Winona Ryder). Their forbidden, simmering romance anchors an enveloping portrait of a bygone era and a caste as vicious, in its own way, as any of the Mafia clans in Scorsese's crime movies. —T.A.

Little Women and Little Women (2019)

It's a tale that's been retold many, many times over the years (and for good reason) but 2019's Greta Gerwig-helmed rendition offers a fresh, still-relevant-today take while remaining loyal to the overall spirit of the source material. More a reimagining than a retelling in many ways, the film doesn't bypass some of the novel's most iconic moments (a curling iron misstep, a near-death experience in an icy pond), but introduces a more modern tone that still succeeds in feeling true to Louisa May Alcott's intentions to pen a story of female strength — a truly timeless notion. —R.K.

To Kill a Mockingbird and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Beloved in almost equal measure, the book and film versions of To Kill a Mockingbird retain their power more than a half-century later, with their themes remaining all too potent in contemporary America. Gregory Peck's portrayal of noble Alabama lawyer Atticus Finch has long since been enshrined as a performance for the ages, and Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning book remains as widely read as ever. We can't fathom what else we can add to the mountains of praise heaped on both to convince you to put To Kill a Mockingbird in front of your eyes if you haven't already, but perhaps we'll say this: We'd love to see a world in which everyone heeded its call for empathy. —T.A.

Le Transperceneige and Snowpiercer (2014)

Based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige, 2014's Snowpiercer tells a postapocalyptic story people actually enjoy: A revolution takes place on the train where humanity's remnants live after a second ice age. Director Bong Joon Ho's English-language debut depicts how even after the world ends, the issues facing the last refugees — class divides, segregation, and uprising — don't just go away because mankind is facing extinction, as revolutionary leader Curtis (Chris Evans) battles the controlling Mason (an almost unrecognizable Tilda Swinton) who works to keep the train and oppressive system propelling it forward moving. Snowpiercer was praised for its visually striking style and the director's deep respect for the source material, which until the film's release, had only been available in French and Korean. —Alamin Yohannes

The Nanny Diaries and The Nanny Diaries (2007)

Sisterhood is powerful. At least it is in the 2007 movie The Nanny Diaries, where female empowerment prevails and supercilious employer Mrs. X reconciles with the nanny she mistreated. Not so much, though, in the original book, where the nanny is overworked and underappreciated to the very end and Mrs. X's reaction to learning of her husband's infidelity is to close ranks with him and sneakily get pregnant.

Essentially a beach read, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus' 2002 novel — based on their experiences working as nannies in New York City — is nonetheless an unflinching depiction of the wealthy Manhattan parents who are too busy getting mani-pedis and having affairs to love and raise their own children (and spouses). In the book, there is no comeuppance, no reformation, no reading-the-riot-act for these self-obsessed snobs. The film adaptation, however, opts for a happier ending, with Scarlett Johansson as the nanny ultimately giving them what-for and Laura Linney's Mrs. X seeing the error of her ways. —Adrienne Onofri

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

A spymaster and a mole hunt for the ages made Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy a hit on both the page and the screen. The beloved 1974 John le Carré novel about spy George Smiley and his pursuit of a Soviet double agent in British Intelligence, has been praised by readers — and, reportedly, spies themselves — for its vivid characters, realism, and taut story.

The BBC serialized the novel for both television and radio, but it wasn't until 2011 that le Carré's mole hunt hopped from the page to the big screen with Gary Oldman in the role of Smiley. He was joined by a star-studded cast including Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Ciarán Hinds, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The film earned numerous award nominations along the way, including Oscar noms for Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Oldman, and was awarded Best British Film at the BAFTAs. —A.Y.

Poldark and Poldark (2015)

From the second British Army Captain Ross Poldark gets back from the American Revolutionary war, his life is filled with heartbreak. His dad has died, his farm has gone downhill, and the woman he loves is engaged to his cousin. Both the novel and the TV series balance Poldark's themes of heartbreak and rebirth with a deft touch, leaving readers and viewers invested in all of the characters — but (spoiler alert!) finding their heroes may change as the story unfurls. No matter what, you are always hoping for at least one character to get the happy ending they have dreamed of, even if they hit some roadblocks along the way. —Jessica Leon

It's Kind of a Funny Story and It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)

Inspired by his own experiences, Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel It's Kind of a Funny Story follows the adventures of a teenage Craig Gilner, who is checked into a psychiatric hospital after reaching out for help. Vizzini's book, which critics found believable and honest, was selected by the American Library Association as one of the Best Books for Young Adults in 2007. It was brought to film audiences in 2010's It's Kind of a Funny Story, starring Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, and Zach Galifianakis. As Craig, Gilcrist brings the character's struggles and warmth to the screen in a film that side-steps psych ward comedy clichés and leans into its strong cast and the tender moments between the three. —A.Y.

The Joy Luck Club and The Joy Luck Club (1993)

The unique bond between Chinese mothers and their American-raised daughters is explored with striking specificity in both Amy Tan's book and its 1993 adaptation. The Joy Luck Club centers on four Chinese immigrant women living in America who form the titular club to swap stories and play mahjong. Each has a daughter whom they are trying to raise with a certain set of values and give them better lives than they had growing up. The film is peppered with numerous flashbacks from the mothers' perspectives looking back on their lives, though some details are omitted, such as the book's focus on Chinese superstitions. —Kevin Jacobsen

Crazy Rich Asians and Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Kevin Kwan's satirical novel about an American woman who discovers her boyfriend's family is one of the wealthiest in Singapore was practically begging to be adapted to film. Jon M. Chu brought Crazy Rich Asians to the big screen with an appropriately splendiferous flair, with stars Constance Wu and Henry Golding. Crazy Rich Asians became the first mainstream Hollywood production starring a predominantly Asian-descended cast set in contemporary times since The Joy Luck Club, and the film far exceeded expectations, grossing $239 million worldwide. Kwan has written two sequels, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems, which we're patiently waiting to get adaptations of their won. —K.J.

Outlander and Outlander (2014–present)

Viewers have had the pleasure of seeing Claire and Jamie Fraser's love story play out on Starz since Outlander's 2014 premiere. In addition to the critically acclaimed show, Diana Gabaldon's Outlander book series comprises nine volumes (and counting), each laying out a new adventure for the loving couple who were born centuries apart. Of course, the books are a bit more in-depth when describing the challenges that the two face, but the small-screen adaptation does a great job of showcasing the emotions that arise throughout the journey to find where they are needed in time. —J.L.

Related: The 50 books we're dying to see get adapted

Normal People and Normal People (2020)

One of the most notable parts of Sally Rooney's millennial love story is the insight into Connell's and Marianne's constant streams of consciousness; how much they're overthinking every significant and less significant thought and feeling. In the Hulu miniseries adaptation of Normal People, those insights translate into stolen glances and pained silences. Any book reader is armed with that extra knowledge going in, but, thanks to the stellar acting of leads Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, having read the novel isn't a prerequisite for keenly experiencing the nuances of their emotions while watching the series.

Both the book and the television show will leave you equally sad and horny — the show comes with the bonus of not having to just imagine Connell's lusted-after, um, chain. —R.K.

The Maze Runner and The Maze Runner (2014)

James Dashner's Maze Runner novels follow the story of Thomas and his friends as they try to survive in a dystopian world full of twists and turns, keeping readers on their feet throughout, and their journey onscreen is no different. Dylan O'Brien was able to fully captivate the sense of urgency and responsibility that Thomas displays while being forced to endure a test to which he doesn't even know he is being subjected. There may have been some differences from page to screen, but the underlying themes of danger and the will to do anything to save the ones you love remain. —J.L.

Call Me by Your Name and Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Luca Guadagnino captured the yearning desire of André Aciman's coming-of-age novel, set during a sun-drenched summer in 1983 Italy. Call Me by Your Name focuses on 17-year-old Elio, played by Timothée Chalamet in his breakout role. Elio becomes fascinated by his father's new grad student, Oliver (Armie Hammer), and their connection blossoms into a passionate — if tumultuous — romance. Aciman's descriptive prose is translated into a highly sensual film about love and loss. —K.J.

The Color Purple and The Color Purple (1985)

It's safe to say that Steven Spielberg wouldn't be the modern choice to adapt Alice Walker's 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple, but that doesn't mean the director didn't have the range to push beyond what filmgoers considered his normal blockbuster zone at the time. (By 1985, The Color Purple was already a literary sensation, and the movie itself would end up one of the biggest box office hits of the year.) But past its controversial awards history (The Color Purple was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and yet didn't win a single one) and routine banishment of the book from reading lists, the story of Black women working to assert their independence not only from society but from the cruel people in their own lives is worth visiting in both forms.

In Walker's book, much of the story is told through letters, adding richness and depth to Celie (played by Whoopi Goldberg in the film) and Shug (Margaret Avery), giving their relationship more space to breathe and live, whereas, in the film adaptation, their bond is framed quietly in the background. The book is unflinching and can be at times a difficult, emotional read. And while the film adaptation does not shy away from the abuse visited upon the main characters, it softens the edges. Don't let the material intimidate readers and viewers; both the book and the movie are life-affirming odes to surviving with grace. —S.S.

The Call of the Wild and The Call of the Wild (2020)

Since its publication in 1903, Jack London's novel The Call of the Wild has remained one of the most popular American classics for readers of every age willing to traverse the Alaskan wilderness with Buck, a rare canine character, and explore his relationships with both man and beast. The book has been adapted numerous times, most recently being the 2020 film starring Harrison Ford. While everyone loves a good story about man's best friend, both the book and the film don't necessarily have the happiest of endings. Despite this, The Call of the Wild is a story of adventure and love that has endured for generations of fans. —J.L.

Atonement and Atonement (2007)

Both the novel by Ian McEwan and the film by Joe Wright probe questions of guilt, redemption, and the narratives we spin to attempt to earn or bestow atonement. It circles around a forbidden romance between aristocratic Cecelia (Keira Knightley) and housekeeper's son Robbie (James McAvoy) that rends their life in two when a stolen moment between them is misinterpreted by Cecelia's younger sister, Briony (Saoirse Ronan). As World War II erupts, they all must face what they are to each other and learn how to recover from this searing lie. Wright's film adapts an already exquisite novel with an almost mystical sleight of hand that breathes the literary into the visual, from its typewriter-infused score to its devastating use of frame stories and unreliable narrators. —M.L.L.

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century and Nomadland (2020)

Adapting a work of nonfiction comes with its own unique set of challenges, but this is especially true of investigative journalism. Writer-director Chloé Zhao deftly weaves together the reported stories from Jessica Bruder's Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century into the fictional Fern (Frances McDormand) and Dave (David Strathairn) with the nomads found in the book (Linda May, Charlene Swankie, and Bob Wells as themselves) in a delicate balancing act, which feels warm despite its sometimes clinical documentary style.

Both mediums capture the achingly hard work available to marginalized communities for what amounts to a subsistence income — remote forestry services camp hosting gigs; seasonal Amazon CamperForce warehouse jobs; running amusement park rides; and sorting sugar beets across the frozen tundra, among others. The book reads like an oral history, war stories of survival and pride, fear and desperation told around hot plates and night fires. While the movie can sometimes feel cold and lonely in its remoteness, familiarity with the original reporting helps fill those spaces. Linda May, "Swankie Wheels," Bob Wells, and everyone else from the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous — see you down the road. —S.S.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Originally published in 1954, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first in his Lord of the Rings trilogy, helped define the high fantasy genre and influenced any number of imitators along the way. Primarily concerned with the actions of one Frodo Baggins and his attempts to gather a fellowship of friends, old and new, to help him destroy the powerful One Ring, the book was adapted by Peter Jackson in 2001.

Jackson filmed all three of the LOTR films simultaneously, a huge gamble that reaped huge rewards: His trilogy is one of the most successful franchises in history, both critically and commercially (unless you're a fan of Tom Bombadil — in which case, sorry about his exclusion). The films managed to capture the wonder of Middle Earth and Tolkien's beloved characters with groundbreaking visual effects and spot-on casting. Fellowship snagged four Oscars out of 13 nominations, though Jackson would have to wait until Return of the King for a Best Picture win. Still, in 2021 (the year of its 20th anniversary), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was inducted into the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." —Lester Fabian Brathwaite

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. has been celebrated (and, in some circles, derided) for covering important subjects that girls face as they grow up, particularly menstruation and sexual development, with refreshing frankness. Judy Blume's foundational coming-of-age novel finally received a film adaptation in 2023, 53 years after it was originally published. The film, directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, captures the honesty and warmth of the book, thanks in large part to her cast. Abby Ryder Fortson delivers a charming performance as tween Margaret, while Rachel McAdams is wonderfully empathetic as her mother. "They are the dream cast," Blume raved to EW. "It couldn't get any better." —K.J.

Related: 26 best movie adaptations of classic children's books

Dune and Dune (2021)

What does it mean for a book to be unfilmable? For director Denis Villeneuve, that's nothing but a challenge — one both he and David Lynch attempted, to varying results. Frank Herbert's 1965 novel was a sensation upon publication and filmmakers had tried for more than a decade to bring it to the screen before Lynch marginally succeeded in 1984. Lynch's film was criticized for being nigh incomprehensible and, worse, cheap-looking — truly an insult, as it cost an astronomical (for 1984) $40 million.

Villeneuve, however, had the luxury of filming his adaptation of Herbert's famously unfilmable novel in two parts, the first released in 2021 and the second in 2024. This expansive approach suits a story with as much depth and scope as Dune. It also helps that technology has improved to give breathing, realistic, gorgeous life to a world 8,000 years in the future. Villeneuve's vision also comes at a time when Herbert's themes of planetary exploitation for political and economic gain seem all too prescient. —L.F.B.

One Day and One Day (2024)

David Nicholls' 2009 novel has been adapted twice, and although the author wrote the screenplay for the 2011 film, which starred Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, it's the 2024 Netflix series that really did the book justice. After all, while the book follows Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley for one day every year for roughly 20 years, it's difficult to fit all that plot into a film. But with Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall in the lead roles, the series is able to really sit with the characters through the many different phases of their lives and their joint love story. And that makes the ending all the more heartbreaking. —Samantha Highfill

American Prometheus and Oppenheimer (2023)

In crafting his Oscar-winning biopic on J. Robert Oppenheimer, a.k.a. the "father" of the atomic bomb, Christopher Nolan pulled directly from Martin Sherwin and Kai Bird's biographical tome, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. The Pulitzer Prize-winning book details Oppenheimer's early years as a student at the University of Cambridge, his involvement in the Manhattan Project, the development of the atomic bomb, and the subsequent smear campaign against him led by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Lewis Strauss. While the book presents Oppenheimer's story chronologically, Nolan's adaptation opts for a nonlinear narrative, cutting back and forth between the development of the bomb and the Strauss hearings, cleverly demonstrating how the past informs the present and immersing us in Oppenheimer's psyche. —K.J.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.