12 books to ease your Downton Abbey withdrawal

by Kevin P. Sullivan, Christian Holub, Dylan Kickham, Jessica Goodman

                

Posted March 9 2016 — 7:32 AM EST

Now that Downton Abbey has come to an end, fans are left without their beloved Crawleys, servants, and stories of deceit and loyalty. Have no fear, though: Here are 12 books with similar themes, characters, and twists to ease your withdrawal.

Below Stairs by Margaret Powell

Perfect for: Fans of Mrs. Hughes, Anna, and the maids of Downton
This nonfiction memoir is the true story of one woman’s life in service to the great houses of England. As a kitchen maid, Powell saw firsthand the raucous vagaries of the aristocracy and the tragedies of the underclass, and reports them both with empathetic detail.

What the Butler Winked At by Eric Horne

Perfect for: Anyone who wishes Mr. Carson had a wild side
One of the few memoirs that can give readers an intimate and page-turning peek into the scandalous lives of the fabulously wealthy in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Eric Horne’s recounting of his decades as a butler for British aristocracy provides secrets that are all the more scandalous because they are true.

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

Perfect for: Downton fans who will miss its complex love stories
Dubbed E.M. Forster’s most optimistic work, A Room with a View follows Lucy, a young girl growing up in early twentieth century England and Italy, as she is forced by a strict society to refuse herself of the true love of the lower class George in favor of the materialistic and rude Cecil. As Lucy struggles with what to do with her life, the reader explores in-depth how society functioned in Edwardian England.

The Habits of the House by Fay Weldon

Perfect for: Fans of Downton Abbey’s interplay between personal dramas and world-shaking historical background
One of the primary writers of the original Upstairs, Downstairs series also wrote a trilogy of novels about the travails of an English household staring down the barrel of the twentieth century. Sound familiar? The first book in the series kicks off with the arrival of a beautiful Chicago heiress, who might just change the Dilberne estate’s fortunes.

Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford

Perfect for: Those who want more social-climbing marriage stories
Romance and scandal in high society make up the bulk of Nancy Mitford’s Love in a Cold Climate, in which beautiful and wealthy young debutante Polly is bored by her numerous suitors much to her hoity toity mother’s annoyance. The novel follows the hidden drama that courses like blood through the veins of the aristocratic Montdore manor in early twentieth century London.

No Angel by Penny Vincenzi

Perfect for: Lady Edith and Lady Mary devotees
This novel retains Downton Abbey’s epic scope, zooming in on aristocratic heiress Celia Lytton and the ways her headstrong decisions affect the lives of those around her.

The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard

Perfect for: True history buffs
Set in London around the World War II era, Howard’s series goes inside the Cazalet family, exploring the inner thoughts of the three generations of Cazalets as well as their friends and servants. While the stories are deeply personal, they also investigate the effects WWII had on families from numerous perspectives. The book series was adapted into BBC mini-series The Cazalets in 2001.

Longbourne by Jo Baker

Perfect for: Viewers who knew that all the real action happened downstairs
This retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice shows the events of the Bennet household from the servants’ perspective. Austen neglected the servants in her stories, but Jo Baker amends that here, proving that their stories are just as dramatic and witty as those of the rich dilettantes.

Servants by Lucy Lethbridge

Perfect for: Those who prefer downstairs to up
Downton fans wanting for more of a lesson in the Mrs. Patmores and Mrs. Hugheses of the world should look no further than this history of the help, ranging from the eighteenth century to the modern times. The books also offers detailed explanations for each position, just in case you don’t actually remember what a footman is supposed to do but are afraid to ask.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Perfect for: Those who ship Carson and Mrs. Hughes
As 1989’s Man Booker Prize for fiction winner, Ishiguro’s third novel follows a butler’s (Stevens) unresolved relationship with a former housekeeper (Miss Kenton). Told through diary entries, the beloved book flips between themes of dignity, desire, and loyalty in pre-World War II-era Britain.

The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy

Perfect for: Fans who don’t need a likable protagonist
Galsworthy epic spanned five volumes — three novels and two interludes — and examined the life, loves, and obsessions of Soames Forsyte, a moneyed man whose financial success never manages to satisfy him. The story is told across years and generations, as Galsworthy explores what money actually means to those who have lots of it. Plus, since the works are old enough to exist in the public domain, they’re free to read.

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

Perfect for: Those who love to hate Lady Mary Crawley
In Edith Warton’s 1913 novel, midwesterner Undine Spragg is in over her head when she uproots her family to move to New York. She marries a has been socialite Ralph Marvell and in hopes to raise her own social standing, devolves into high-ish society. Downton creator Julian Fellowes has cited the book as a major influence on him and the show, and traces of Undine show up in various characters in Yorkshire.

  

British Telly: 10 Downton Abbey Filming Locations You Can Visit on Your Next Trip

Downton Abbey has become something of a cultural phenomenon on both sides of the pond since it first aired in 2010.  Beginning with the sinking of the Titanic, the programme has followed the Crawley family and their servants through the latter 1910s, World War I, and into the mid-20s.  Though it came to an end with this past December’s Christmas special, Julian Fellowes’s period piece ultimately ran for six series and a total of fifty-two episodes.  If you’re a fan, you may be wondering where some of these fantastic places are and how you can visit them.  You’ll be happy to know that many are easy to reach and love having fans come to call.

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Castle next to Loch Frye in Argyll, Scotland will be instantly recognisable to fans as Duneagle Castle, the home to Crawley relatives Hugh, Susan, and Rose MacClare.  Duneagle was used as a location multiple times since the 2012 Christmas Special, but was eventually sold by the MacClares when they lost their fortune.  In real life, a castle had existed on the estate since the 1400s, though the current manor home was constructed after a fire in 1877.  Inveraray doesn’t seem to do much to take advantage of its Downton connection, but still offers tours, a tearoom, gardens, and regular events that will make a visit enjoyable for anyone.

Basildon Park

Far from the streets of London, Basildon Park is a stately manor home in Berkshire where the interior has doubled for that of Grantham House, the city residence for the Crawleys during the summer season every year.  Built between 1776 and 1783, the Georgian mansion has been in the care of the National Trust since 1978.  As such, it’s open to tours and regularly hosts events including art exhibits, wildlife walks, and more.  Basildon is more than happy to play up it use as a filming location for Downton Abbey and larger parties can opt for a filming talk or tour of the house.

Alnwick Castle

Doubling as Brancaster Castle and the home of the Marquess of Hexham, Alnwick Castle first appears in the 2014 Christmas Special as the setting for a grousing party by Lord Sindersby, who is renting the estate.  Dowager Countess actress Maggie Smith was familiar with the location well before its appearance in Downton, as it was also used for filming parts of Hogwarts Castle in the first two Harry Potter films.  In real life, it’s the ancestral seat of the Duke of Northumberland and his family still resides there, though they have transformed significant parts of the castle and grounds into a great tourist attraction.  It’s been a filming location on a dozen times over for different productions, but don’t expect as much Downton as it prefers to play up its Potter affiliation.

Lancaster House

If you want to visit Buckingham Palace, you may have a difficult time getting inside, but Lancaster House in the West End of London was used for the interiors and Rose’s presentation at court during the 2013 Christmas Special.  It’s not the only time Lancaster House doubled for Buckingham Palace, as it also did so for the film The Young Victoria.  Since the house is owned and maintained by the British Government, specifically the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, it plays host to many important events and government functions.  As such, it’s not often open to the public, but you can catch the occasional open day and take advantage of the chance to visit.

The Criterion

The Criterion Restaurant in London is one of those rare venues in Downton Abbey that actually gets to play itself, appearing as a dinner location for Edith Crawley and Michael Gregson.  The 1874 neo-Byzantine restaurant is Grade II listed and is lavishly decorated on the inside.  Despite a brief financial hiccup in 2015 after a rent hike forced it into administration, it continues to operate.  You might want to set aside some money to eat there, however, as it can get a little pricey.

Lincoln Castle

One of the more interesting subplots of the programme have involved John and Anna Bates, especially during the time in which he was falsely accused of murder and sent to York Prison.  In reality, the prison scenes were all done at Lincoln Castle, a fortress built by William the Conqueror in the 11^th Century and has served as a jail and law court in more modern times, allowing its cells to easily double for John Bates’ own accommodations.  Lincolnshire County Council now operates the castle as a museum that offers tours of the medieval castle, the Victorian prison, and its special Magna Carta exhibit, where the famous legal document has housed a copy since 1215.  Tickets cover all three exhibits.

West Wycombe House

Sister to Lord Grantham and widow of Lord Marmaduke Painswick, Lady Rosamund Painswick resided at the real-life West Wycombe Park when not in London.  It was used for filming during the fifth series, though it’s no stranger to use as a location, having appeared in The Importance of Being Earnest, 2011’s W.E., and other productions.  As with Alnwick, it was home of real nobles, the Dashwood family, who held the title of Baronet of Great Britain.  Run by the National Trust since 1943, it is both a museum and an actual home for the current Baronet, Sir Edward Dashwood.  The house is only open for a few months every year, so make sure to plan your trip accordingly.

Trench Farm, Akenham

If you want to experience the trenches of World War I in a much more subdued manner than Matthew Crawley and other members of Downton Abbey did, you can visit Trench Farm in Akenham where those scenes were filmed.  Recreating the Battle of Somme for the programme, Trench Farm has accurate reproductions of both the English and German sides during the war and is often bused by film and television productions.  You’ll need to make an appointment to visit (in case some filming is going on), but the location boasts a large car park, toilets, a camp site, and some period buildings.

Bampton

If you want to go walking through the Yorkshire village of Downton, you’ll need to visit the real village of Bampton twenty miles west of Oxford.  The streets and buildings within Bampton have been used repeatedly for filming while the series was ongoing.  One of the most prominent locations is St. Mary the Virgin parish church, which was a filming location both externally as well as internally.  There are also a number of tours out of London and Bath that will treat you to a Downton view of Bampton.

Highclere Castle

The number one stop for any Downton Abbey fan, Highclere Castle is the stand-in for the famous home.  It is the county seat for the Earl of Carnarvon and home to the Herbert family, who use part of the mansion as their residence while utilising the rest for filming, galleries, and a museum.  In addition to its Downton heritage, Highclere also has an impressive collection of Egyptian artefacts belonging to the 5^th Earl, George Herbert, from his expedition of King Tut’s tomb with Howard Carter.  Do be sure to check the castle’s website for opening times as it does tend to close during the winter months, though it also has an app that will let you explore the home from afar.

Feb. 22, 2016 John Rabon Anglotopia

15 Books With Completely Different Movie Endings

                                         

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So you read the book before you saw the movie. Congrats! Unfortunately—as these examples prove—that doesn't always make you an expert on what, exactly, is going to unfold on the big screen. (It should go without saying, but this article contains spoilers—lots of them. You've been warned!)

1. Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park, one of the most popular summer blockbusters of all time, doesn't completely line up with the events described in Michael Crichton's best-selling novel of the same name. At the end of the book, the Costa Rican military comes to the rescue by bombing Site A on Isla Nublar. But director Steven Spielberg felt like changing it up. Instead of a military intervention, Spielberg decided to have the T. Rex return to save the protagonists from a Velociraptor attack. "I think the star of this movie is the T. Rex," Spielberg explained at the time. "The audience will hate me if the T. Rex doesn't come back for one more heroic appearance."

The book and movie's body counts vary, too. By the end of the novel, John Hammond has died, and it is implied that Ian Malcolm has as well. Both survive in the movie. On the other hand, the park's game warden, Robert Muldoon, and IgGen's attorney, Donald Gennaro, perish in the big screen adaptation, but live on in the book. 

2. Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes features one of the most iconic twist endings in movie history: Astronaut George Taylor (played by Charlton Heston) discovers he has been marooned on a post-apocalyptic Earth the entire time. But in La Planète des Singes, the French novel it is based on, the main character—journalist Ulysse Merou—lands on a different planet during the course of his travels, one inhabited by self-aware apes, sentient monkeys, and tribes of dimwitted humans. When Ulysse finally makes it back to Earth, he is shocked to learn that it is now 700 years in the future, and that a similar hierarchy has emerged at home. 

Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, who co-wrote the film's screenplay, was the one who ultimately decided to make the planet of the apes Earth in the distant future. 

3. A Clockwork Orange

Stanley Kubrick based his screenplay on the shortened American version of the British novel by Anthony Burgess. This telling omitted the final chapter of the book, focused on Alex after he is rehabilitated. Though he grows out of his murderous tendencies in Burgess' text, in Kubrick's interpretation, Alex remains as psychotic as ever. Kubrick didn't like the tale's original ending; he felt it was entirely too optimistic given the story's tone and themes. "I think whatever Burgess had to say about the story was said in the book,” Kubrick said. “But I did invent a few useful narrative ideas and reshape some of the scenes." 

Burgess was not a fan of the final product. "The book I am best known for, or only known for, is a novel I am prepared to repudiate: written a quarter of a century ago," Burgess later recalled. "It became known as the raw material for a film which seemed to glorify sex and violence. The film made it easy for readers of the book to misunderstand what it was about, and the misunderstanding will pursue me until I die."

4. Fight Club

The film version of Fight Club remains faithful to author Chuck Palahniuk's original plot—until the very end, that is. The movie version wraps up as the narrator, standing beside Marla, watches a series of explosions caused by his now-absent alter ego, Tyler Durden. At the end of the book, however, the narrator wakes up in recovery from his gunshot wound. He thinks he's in heaven, but Palahniuk makes it clear that he's actually in a mental institution. Several hospital attendants ask him when he's going to start Project Mayhem again, inferring that Tyler Durden is still very much a part of him.

Director David Fincher explained his choice by arguing that the book was too devoted to the narrator's alter ego: "[I] wanted people to love Tyler (Durden), but I also wanted them to be OK with his vanquishing." 

5. The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter is an exploration of guilt, punishment, and mob mentality in 17th-century New England. At the end of the classic tale, the townspeople persecuting Prynne learn that the father of her baby is Reverend Dimmesdale, who eventually dies from immense guilt.

The 1995 film version of The Scarlet Letter opted instead for a happy Hollywood ending (read: no one dies). Instead, Reverend Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne leave their town in order to build a new life together.

6. Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Truman Capote's beloved novella was also given a simplified and sanitized Hollywood ending. In the book, Holly Golightly loses her cat and abandons New York for Argentina—it's unclear where the free spirit will end up next. The movie, on the other hand, ends with Audrey Hepburn's Holly reuniting with Cat and sharing a passionate kiss with neighbor Paul. (There's no romance between them in Capote's version.) 

Capote wasn't a fan of the movie based on his work, nor of the casting of Audrey Hepburn. "I had lots of offers for that book, from practically everybody," Capote said in an interview. "And I sold it to this group at Paramount because they promised things, they made a list of everything, and they didn't keep a single one."  

7. My Sister's Keeper

Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper tells the story of a young leukemia patient named Kate, whose parents conceive another daughter, Anna, in order to have an organ donor for their firstborn. When she turns 13, Anna is asked to donate one of her kidneys to her dying sister. She refuses and sues her parents for medical emancipation. 

In the book, Anna gets into a terrible car accident, and her kidneys are posthumously harvested for Kate, who survives. But for the 2009 adaptation, director Nick Cassevetes chose to reverse the sisters' fates. Kate ends up succumbing to her illness after she refuses to accept her sister's organs. Cassevetes believed his movie's ending was more accurate after he visited pediatric hospitals and talked to terminally ill patients. 

"Going and visiting people in the hospital, this story repeated over and over and over again," Cassevetes told About.com. "In reality, none of these stories ended like the book did." 

8. The Mist

Stephen King's The Mist ends on a vague note—a few survivors head towards the source of a mysterious radio transmission as the titular mist creeps around them. But director Frank Darabont decided to give the film a more definitive—and more gut-wrenching—conclusion. David, played by Thomas Jane, comes to realize that the group's survival efforts are futile. To prevent any further suffering, he kills the remaining survivors, including his son, just before the military shows up to inform him that the situation is now under control. 

"How primitive do people get?" Darabont said of his new ending. "It's Lord of the Flies that happens to have some cool monsters in it." King, for his part, gave the new ending two thumbs-up: "The ending is such a jolt—wham! It's frightening. But people who go to see a horror movie don't necessarily want to be sent out with a Pollyanna ending."  

9. The Lorax

At the end of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, the tale's Once-ler gives the boy the last-ever Truffula seed in the hopes that he'll be able to grow a new forest. But there's no room for ambiguity in the story's 2012 cartoon version: Before the credits roll, new Truffula Trees are flourishing and The Lorax has returned to the forest. 

10. Red Alert

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, based on Peter George's Red Alert, takes a comedic approach to the source material. Instead of narrowly avoiding a nuclear catastrophe at the zero hour (like the book does), Stanley Kubrick decided to blow up the world because of some petty bickering. 

Originally, Kubrick planned to have everyone in the situation room get into a big pie fight. But "I decided it was farce and not consistent with the satiric tone of the rest of the film," he said.

11. Forrest Gump

There are some pretty major differences between Forrest Gump's book and film versions. Though the movie ends with Jenny's death and shows Forrest raising their child alone, the book wraps up with Forrest starting up his own shrimp business, in memory of his college friend Bubba. (Another key difference: in Winston Groom's book, Jenny survives, but marries another man and has his child.) 

"[Screenwriter] Eric Roth departed substantially from the book,” Zemeckis told the Chicago Tribune. “We flipped the two elements of the book, making the love story primary and the fantastic adventures secondary. Also, the book was cynical and colder than the movie. In the movie, Gump is a completely decent character, always true to his word. He has no agenda and no opinion about anything except Jenny, his mother, and God."  

Groom believed that the movie "took some of the rough edges off" his beloved character. In fact, he was so unhappy with the film that he started the book's sequel, Gump and Co., with Forrest telling readers, "Don't never let nobody make a movie of your life's story."

12. Who Censored Roger Rabbit?

Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, the inspiration for Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, is a surprisingly dark murder mystery. In the novel, Roger hires Detective Eddie Valiant to figure out why Rocco DeGreasy, the man who has the cartoon rabbit under contract, hasn't given him his own comic strip. During Valiant's investigation, Roger Rabbit is murdered and his wife Jessica is framed. Valiant spends the rest of the story trying to figure out who killed Roger. (The book ends with the revelation that a mysterious genie is the culprit.)

Although there's still a murder at the center of the 1988 movie version—this time, Toontown owner Marvin Acme is the victim—Disney and Touchstone Pictures gave the entire story an overhaul when the company acquired the film rights from author Gary K. Wolf. The studios hoped to make a family-friendly blockbuster in order to rejuvenate their flagging animation department, and saw Who Censored Roger Rabbit? as a means to that end.

13. I Am Legend

In 2007, Will Smith starred in author Richard Matheson's I Am Legend as Dr. Robert Neville, the sole survivor of a worldwide plague that turns humans into infected, vampire-like creatures. 

The book ends with Dr. Neville, who spends his days slaying the infected to protect himself, learning that he's considered a monster to the creatures who are now the dominant race on the planet. He's imprisoned and later executed for his crimes. In the movie, however, Neville solidifies his hero status by handing off a cure for the virus ravaging the planet to a healthy woman and boy. An alternate ending that showed more interaction between Neville and the creatures was shot, but the filmmakers opted to go with an ending in which Will Smith sacrifices himself for the sake of the human race.

14. First Blood

The first Rambo movie is based on the novel First Blood by author David Morrell. The book and the movie both tell the story of a troubled Vietnam War vet, but the book ends with his death after a violent showdown with Chief Teasle. In the movie, Rambo and Teasle survive, and Rambo turns himself into the authorities.

The reason for the change: Once again, early test audiences didn't approve of the original ending, and wanted to see Rambo live to fight another day. 

15. The Body Snatchers

The 1956 black-and-white classic, based on Jack Finney's The Body Snatchers, ends with protagonist Miles ranting and raving ("You're next!") along a busy highway of pod people and non-believers. But in the book, the titular body snatchers flee Earth after Miles discovers where their pods are grown and begins to set them on fire.

Though director Don Siegel and screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring were happy with their unsettling ending, the movie studio demanded a more hopeful outcome. To keep the bosses happy, the filmmakers added in a brief epilogue, during which the audience learns that local police had alerted national authorities to the presence of the space invaders. Sniffed Siegel, "The film was nearly ruined by those in charge at Allied Artists, who added a preface and an ending that I don't like." 

Books Being Adapted Into Television Shows in 2016

Tracy Mumford  Feb 21, 2016 The Thread

Audiences have been watching for decades as Hollywood tries to cram its favorite books into two-hour movies, with varying degrees of success.
Now, however, television is catching up, and it offers one important thing that movies just can't: time.
Deep in the throes of what some critics are calling the golden age of television, producers are turning to bookshelves for inspiration. With anywhere from four to 34 hours at their disposal, directors can take time with the material, bringing more fully-realized literary worlds to life.

This isn't a new idea. The BBC packed the 90s with adaptations of Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austen and others. More recently, critical darlings like "Friday Night Lights," "Dexter," and "Game of Thrones" have been pulled from the page. But the trend is accelerating, and everything from fantasy epics to Russian classics are getting their own series.
Many recent adaptations have already found audiences ("Outlander," "The Leftovers," "Orange is the New Black"). Below are some new projects headed for the small screen, and others that have recently debuted.

'Anne of Green Gables' by L.M. Montgomery Courtesy of publisher

"Anne of Green Gables" by L.M. Montgomery

Forthcoming
Start braiding your hair — Anne Shirley is back.
Last month, Variety reported that the CBC is set to produce a new spin on the series, which has been a sensation around the world for over a century. According to Reuters, the books have sold more than 50 million copies in 20 different languages.

Montgomery's series follows the spirited orphan Anne Shirley as she learns to adapt to life on Prince Edward Island. The show will be called simply "Anne," and it is set to premiere in Canada in 2017. Moira Walley-Beckett, best known for her work on "Breaking Bad," will serve as the executive producer and writer.
"Adapting Anne's story really excites me," Walley-Beckett told Variety. "Anne's issues are contemporary issues: feminism, prejudice, bullying and a desire to belong. The stakes are high and her emotional journey is tumultuous. I'm thrilled to delve deeply into this resonant story, push the boundaries and give it new life."

"The Night Manager" by John le Carre

Forthcoming
Le Carre is the master of spy novels — it can't hurt that he actually once was a spy — and the latest BBC adaptation of his work will be "most radical ever done," the author's son told The Guardian.
The six-part series takes on le Carre's 1993 novel, "The Night Manager," a post-Cold War thriller about a former soldier and his nemesis, a charismatic arms dealer. The adaptation's cast boasts a string of familiar faces, including Hugh Laurie of "House" and Tom Hiddleston of "The Avengers."
The show will debut this month on the BBC, and on AMC in the U.S. in April.

The Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante Courtesy of publisher

The Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante

Forthcoming
Ferrante fans suffering withdrawal after the fourth and final book in the series came out in September will get a boost in the form of a 32-part television adaptation. The beloved quartet of books traces the friendship of two women, Elena and Lily, over the course of their entire lives, beginning in Naples in the 1950s.
The series became tremendously popular in recent years, though the author's true identity remains a mystery. For those hoping to skip the books and simply catch up with the show, there will still be some reading involved: subtitles. The New York Times reports that the show will be filmed in Italian, in Italy.

"11-23-63" by Stephen King

Now airing on Hulu
Stephen King likes messing with time: His 2011 hit novel tells the story of a man who travels back to 1963 to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But as everybody knows, time travel is never that simple.
The television adaption has some serious star power behind it: James Franco plays Jake Epping, the time-traveling history revisionist, and J.J. Abrams, fresh off of "Star Wars," is an executive producer.

"The Magicians" series by Lev Grossman

Now airing on SyFy
Grossman's popular series, centered on a magical school called Brakebills, has long been hailed as the grim, grown-up version of "Harry Potter." Young magicians struggle to master spells — and their own emotions — before inevitably getting sucked into an otherworldly adventure with deadly consequences.
SyFy made its own alterations before unleashing the TV series. Brakebills is now a grad school instead of a college, and the characters — Quentin, Alice, Eliot, Penny — have been aged four to five years to compensate. There are enough longing glances and smoldering looks to make the show seem a bit like "Dawson's Creek" with magic — if that can be taken as a compliment.

"The Interestings" by Meg Wolitzer

Forthcoming
Wolitzer's sprawling tale of friendship and love is heavy on the angst — both teenage and middle age. "The Interestings" unfolds over three decades, following a group of friends who meet as high schoolers at an arts camp and struggle to maintain their bond as they confront the realities of aging.
The series is set to be directed by Mike Newell. Deadline announced that Lauren Ambrose, of "Six Feet Under," has been cast as Jules, the main character with acting aspirations, but a less romantic reality.

"MaddAddam" by Margaret Atwood

Forthcoming
The queen of dystopia is getting her television throne: Margaret Atwood's trilogy — "Oryx and Crake," "The Year of the Flood" and "MaddAddam" — is set to be adapted for HBO.
Darren Aronofsky will be at the helm; he's best known for the disturbing and stylish "Black Swan." He should be right at home in Atwood's post-apocalyptic world where genetic mutations have altered what's left of humanity.

"Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn

Forthcoming
Gillian Flynn conquered the big screen with "Gone Girl" — she wrote not only the novel but the screenplay as well, which is rare for Hollywood adaptations. Now she's tackling TV by adapting her debut novel, "Sharp Objects."
Published in 2006, the book follows reporter Camille Preaker as she investigates a string of brutal murders in her hometown. Get ready for some twists.

"His Dark Materials" series by Philip Pullman

Forthcoming
Forget the 2007 film "The Golden Compass." Most people who love this supernatural young adult series have purged that Nicole Kidman adaptation from their minds.
The BBC is now adapting the series for TV, so you'll need to study up on daemons and dust and the dangers of the Magisterium. The books follow Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry on adventures through parallel universes.

"War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy

Released January 2016
Apparently more people lie about reading this book than have actually read it, if a recent Telegraph poll is to be believed. It will definitely be easier to bluff your way through the Russian classic after you watch the six-part BBC adaptation.
The book begins in 1805, with Napoleon's armies inching ever closer to Russia's borders. It tracks the drama of five aristocratic families and their young, privileged heirs. Clocking in at over 1,000 pages, it's considered one of the
The book begins in 1805, with Napoleon's armies inching ever closer to Russia's borders. It tracks the drama of five aristocratic families and their young, privileged heirs. Clocking in at over 1,000 pages, it's considered one of the longest books in popular literature, but if you have eight hours, now you can get the gist.