15 Beloved Books That Have Multiple Adaptations

For as long as movies have been around, Hollywood has been mining classic works of literature for material. After all, what better way to come up with a story idea than work from pre-existing material? In many ways, the novels of Charles Dickens, Jane Austin, Bram Stoker, Lewis Carroll, Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Edgar Rice Burroughs were the original I.P., in that studio executives could assume that anyone who had read the book would turn up to watch the movie. It’s why, by and large, filmmakers continue to adapt those same works to this day.

Some books have been adapted so many times that it almost feels like overkill. Yet the very best novels are so rich and textured that filmmakers can find fresh interpretations on old material, no matter how many times they been brought to the screen. Here are 15 beloved books that have multiple adaptations.

Generations upon generations of children have grown up reading “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” Published in 1865, it follows the exploits of a Victorian girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole and finds herself in a magical realm full of danger and excitement. Lewis Carroll’s fantasy novel introduced the world to a variety of iconic characters, including the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Queen of Hearts. A sequel, “Through the Looking Glass,” followed in 1871.

Adaptations of “Alice,” generally retitled “Alice in Wonderland,” date all the way back to the silent era, with the earliest screen adaptation arriving in 1903. Walt Disney rose to prominence with his silent “Alice Comedies,” which blended live action with animation. In 1951, he produced the most famous big screen version, the animated musical “Alice in Wonderland.” As Disney Studios mined their cartoon classics for live action adaptations, “Alice” got its own updated version in 2010, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. And that barely scratches the surface of the various film and TV adaptations.

Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” became an instant holiday classic when it was published in 1843. The story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a penny-pinching miser who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve, ranks with the legend of Santa Claus amongst yuletide enthusiasts. As the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future give Scrooge a glimpse of how terribly his life will turn out if he continues to be so stingy, the tidings and good cheer of the holiday spirit are reaffirmed.

Filmmakers have been bringing Dickens’ book to the screen since 1901. Among the best “A Christmas Carol” adaptations came in 1951, with Alastair Sim portraying Ebenezer Scrooge. A musical version, “Scrooge,” arrived in 1970, with Albert Finney singing his way through Ebenezer’s dark night of the soul. Michael Caine gave his own musical Scrooge performance opposite the Muppets in 1992’s “A Muppet Christmas Carol,” while Jim Carrey acted the role via motion capture in Robert Zemeckis’s 2009 animated version. There have also been a ton of unofficial adaptations, most famously 1988’s “Scrooged,” with Bill Murray playing a TV executive who learns the true meaning of Christmas.

Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” has been terrifying readers since its publication in 1897. Taking inspiration from Vlad the Impaler, it tells the story of Count Dracula, a vampire who has stayed alive throughout the centuries by drinking blood from people’s necks. He leaves his Transylvanian castle when real estate agent Jonathan Harker gets him a good deal on an estate in Victorian England. It’s up to vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing to stop Dracula before he can turn Harker’s fiancee, Mina, into one of his brides.

There have been several movie versions of “Dracula,” including F.W. Murnau’s unofficial 1922 version “Nosferatu,” which starred Max Schreck as the rodent-like Count Orlok. Béla Lugosi popularized the character — and turned him into a handsome devil — in 1931’s “Dracula,” the first of Universal’s monster movies. Christopher Lee played the bloodsucking count several times for the British Hammer Film Productions, beginning in 1958. German director Werner Herzog remade Murnau’s version with 1979’s “Nosferatu the Vampyre,” as did Robert Eggers in 2023. Gary Oldman blended Schreck’s decrepitude with Lugosi’s sexuality in 1992’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” directed by Francis Ford Coppola. 

The dream of immortality was turned into the stuff of nightmares in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” originally published by the young author in 1818. It centers on Victor Frankenstein, an ambitious scientist who seeks to bring the dead back to life by robbing graves and assembling various parts into one complete man. His attempts to play God turn tragic, however, when his creation escapes.

Shelley’s novel first gained cinematic immortality with 1931’s “Frankenstein,” directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff as a lumbering, sympathetic version of the monster. Karloff played the character several times, most famously in the 1935 sequel “Bride of Frankenstein,” also directed by Whale. As he did with Dracula, Christopher Lee portrayed the creature in 1957’s “The Curse of Frankenstein.” Mel Brooks mounted a comedic take on the story with 1974’s “Young Frankenstein,” with Gene Wilder playing the mad doctor’s descendant. Tim Burton made an unofficial version with the short film “Frankenweenie,” later turned into a 2012 stop-motion animated feature. Kenneth Branagh mounted an adaptation with Robert De Niro in 1994, while Guillermo del Toro’s version with Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi arrived in 2025.

Charles Dickens first published “Great Expectations” in serialized form between 1860 and 1861, and it’s captivated readers ever since. Set in London in the 19th century, it recounts the life of Pip, a poor orphan who grows into a gentleman through the patronage of a mysterious benefactor. Along the way, he meets Miss Havisham, an eccentric shut-in who has worn her wedding dress ever since her fiance left her at the alter. Miss Havisham lives in her massive estate with her young ward, Estella, who catches young Pip’s eye.

Although adaptations of “Great Expectations” stretch back to the silent era, the first famous version was mounted in 1946 by David Lean. That film, which won Oscars for its cinematography and art direction, starred 38-year-old John Mills as the 20-something Pip. In 1998, Alfonso Cuaron directed a modernized version set in New York City with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow as Pip and Estella, while Mike Newell crafted a more traditional adaptation in 2012 featuring Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham. Because of the novel’s length, there have been several television iterations, including one in 1989 and another in 2023.

Few families can boast as many literary heavyweights as the Brontë sisters: Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. Charlotte Brontë’s most famous novel, “Jane Eyre,” was first published in 1847, and follows the titular heroine beginning with her harsh childhood with her aunt, Mrs. Reed, who sends her to boarding school after her kindly uncle dies. Jane grows into adulthood and goes to work as a governess for the mysterious Edward Rochester, who marries her so that she’ll care for his ward, Adèle.

There were multiple movie versions of “Jane Eyre” during the silent era, dating all the way back to 1910. The first noteworthy adaptation came in 1943, with Joan Fontaine as Jane Eyre and Orson Welles as Edward. That same year, horror producer Val Lewton used Brontë’s novel as inspiration for “I Walked with a Zombie.” A 1970 iteration with Susannah York and George C. Scott was released in European theaters before premiering on U.S. television the next year. Franco Zeffirelli mounted an adaptation in 1996 with William Hurt and Charlotte Gainsbourg, while Cary Fukunaga directed Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender in a 2011 version. 

Clocking in at 1,462 pages, Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel “Les Misérables” centers on Jean Valjean, an escaped convict who is relentlessly pursued by French police inspector Javert. Yet that’s just the set-up to what is a sprawling saga that also encompasses a love triangle between Valjean’s adopted daughter Cosette, the student revolutionary Marius, and the street urchin Éponine, who are swept up in the Paris June Rebellion of 1832.

The first notable cinematic adaptation of Hugo’s novel came with French director Raymond Bernard’s four-and-half-hour iteration, released in 1934. The next year, Hollywood took on the classic tale in a significantly truncated version with Fredric March as Valjean and Charles Laughton as Javert. France and Hollywood took turns bringing the novel to screen throughout the decades, with Claude Lelouch mounting a version in 1995 with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Billie August directing an adaptation in 1998 with Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush. Yet the most famous “Les Mis” adaptation is undoubtedly the stage musical written by Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, which was itself turned into an Oscar-winning movie in 2012 with Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe.

First published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” has become almost required reading for any young adult. It tells the story of the four March sisters — Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy — who come of age while their father is serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. While part one focuses on the sisters during childhood, part two follows their journey into adulthood, as the independent and strong-willed Jo finds herself falling in love with her neighbor, Laurie, despite wishing to leave home and become a writer.

“Little Women” was first adapted for the stage in 1912 by Marian de Forest. After a handful of silent movie versions, George Cukor mounted an Oscar-winning 1933 iteration starring Katharine Hepburn as Jo. A version in vibrant Technicolor hit theaters in 1949, with Elizabeth Taylor as Amy and Janet Leigh as Meg. Gillian Armstrong mounted an adaptation in 1994, with Winona Ryder earning an Oscar nomination for her performance as Jo. Greta Gerwig revived Alcott’s novel to Oscar-winning success in 2019, with Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Timothée Chalamet heading an all-star cast.

Originally published in serialized form between 1837 and 1839, Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” examines poverty and social class through the eyes of a resilient child. The titular Oliver is an orphan growing up in an English workhouse, who famously runs afoul of his masters when he asks for another serving of gruel. He escapes to London, where he joins a gang of pint-sized pickpockets led by the aging criminal Fagin.

There were several silent adaptations of Dickens’ novel, including a 1922 version starring Lon Chaney and Jackie Coogan. After adapting “Great Expectations” in 1946, David Lean made his own version of “Oliver Twist” in 1948, with Alec Guinness playing Fagin. A 1968 musical version, “Oliver!” won five Oscars, including best picture and best director for Carol Reed. Disney released an animated musical iteration of the Dickens tale in 1988 as “Oliver and Company,” with Joey Lawrence voicing an orphaned kitty who falls in with a street-wise dog voiced by Billy Joel. Among the most recent adaptations, the most famous was directed by Roman Polanski and released in 2005, with Ben Kingsley playing Fagin to Barney Clark’s Oliver.

J. M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” began life as a 1904 play before being published as the 1911 novel “Peter and Wendy.” It centers on the boy who never grew up, Peter Pan, who brings Wendy Darling and her brothers, John and Michael, to the magical realm of Neverland. Flying through the air with the fairy Tinker Bell, Peter rules over the Lost Boys while doing battle with the dastardly Captain Hook, who can’t forgive Peter for feeding his hand to a crocodile.

There have been several adaptations of “Peter Pan” on both the stage and screen, dating all the way back to the silent era. Perhaps the most famous version is the animated musical released by Walt Disney Productions in 1953. The following year, Broadway legend Jerome Robbins mounted a stage musical featuring Mary Martin as Peter, which later aired on television. Steven Spielberg cast Robin Williams as an adult Peter Pan in his 1991 film “Hook.” Among the various live action iterations to come out include Joe Wright’s 2015 “Pan,” starring Hugh Jackman as Captain Hook, and David Lowery’s 2023 “Peter Pan and Wendy,” with Jude Law portraying the notorious pirate.

Although tame by today’s standards, James M. Cain’s sexually explicit, graphically violent “The Postman Always Rings Twice” caused a scandal when it was published in 1934, and was even banned in Boston. Set during the Great Depression, it centers on drifter Frank Chambers, who wanders into a roadside California diner in search of a meal and winds up with a job. He falls in love with the boss’s wife, Cora, and they conspire to have him killed so they can take over the diner and live happily ever after. But that’s easier said than done.

The first movie adaptation of “Postman” was released in France in 1939 as “The Left Turn in the Road.” Italian maestro Luchino Visconti made his directorial debut with a 1943 version of Cain’s novel, retitled “Obsession.” The most famous iteration came in 1946, with John Garfield as Frank and Lana Turner as Cora — directed by Tay Garnett, it’s one of the best known film noirs. Bob Rafelson directed his own version in 1981 with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange, taking full advantage of the newfound freedoms to depict sex and violence onscreen.

Jane Austin’s second novel, “Pride and Prejudice,” was first published in 1813, four short years before she died at age 41. It’s a comedy of manners about Elizabeth Bennett, one of five sisters who must marry a wealthy husband to ensure their family will be financially well off when their father, Mr. Bennett, dies. The strong-willed Elizabeth butts heads with her potential suitor, Mr. Darcy, who lacks social graces despite his high status and good looks.

The first feature film version of “Pride and Prejudice” came in 1940, with Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennett and Laurence Olivier as Mr. Darcy. Austin’s novel was a popular mainstay on British television, with several small screen adaptations popping up throughout the decades. The most famous of these was the 1995 miniseries that starred Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth and Colin Firth as Darcy. 10 years later, Joe Wright made his feature directorial debut with an acclaimed adaptation that earned Keira Knightley an Oscar nomination and made a star of Matthew Macfadyen. As if that weren’t enough, an upcoming Netflix miniseries with Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden is currently in the works.

Published in 1912, “Tarzan of the Apes” was the first of 24 novels Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote about a human boy raised by primates. Born in the jungles of Africa when his parents were marooned there, the infant Tarzan is adopted by the ape Kala, who raises him as one of her own. As he grows older and learns more about his human ancestry, he falls in love with the castaway Jane Porter, and later travels to the civilized world to be with her. 

The “Tarzan” book series was perfect cinematic fodder, starting with a pair of silent films starring Elmo Lincoln as the ape man. The character was popularized by Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller, who first played him in 1932’s “Tarzan the Ape Man” and reprised the role 11 times. Among the more serious adaptations was 1984’s “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes,” with Christopher Lambert as the adult Tarzan. Disney released an animated “Tarzan” in 1999, with Tony Goldwyn providing the ape man’s voice. Alexander Skarsgård brought to life a post-jungle Tarzan opposite Margot Robbie’s Jane in 2016’s “The Legend of Tarzan.”

Originally published as a serial between 1881 and 1882, “Treasure Island” established Robert Louis Stevenson as one of the great adventure writers. It tells the story of Jim Hawkins, who finds a map pointing the way towards buried treasure belonging to the infamous Captain Flint. He sets sail in search of fortune with Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney on the “Hispaniola,” where he befriends the one-legged pirate Long John Silver.

Two silent movie versions of “Treasure Island” were released before Victor Fleming took a crack at it in 1934, with Wallace Berry as Long John Silver, Jackie Cooper as Jim Hawkins, and Lionel Barrymore as Billy Bones. Walt Disney Studios used Stevenson’s novel as the source for their first live-action feature film, released in 1950 and starring Bobby Driscoll as Hawkins and Robert Newton as Silver. Disney and The Jim Henson Company later released a Muppet version of the story, 1996’s “Muppet Treasure Island,” with Tim Curry as Long John Silver. The studio even produced an animated version of the story set in space, “Treasure Planet,” released in 2002 and featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the voice of Jim Hawkins.

Like her sisters Anne and Charlotte, Emily Brontë was a writer, although she only completed one novel, 1847’s “Wuthering Heights,” before her death at age 30 the following year. It’s a gothic love story centered on Heathcliff, an orphan who is taken in by the Earnshaw family, and his adopted sister, Catherine. Catherine is engaged to the wealthy Edgar Linton, and Heathcliff vows to win her heart by becoming a proper gentleman. Yet tragedy cuts their love affair short.

The first prominent cinematic adaptation of Brontë’s novel was released in 1939, with William Wyler directing Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. That version, which won the Oscar for best cinematography and competed for best picture, eliminated the second half of the novel, which concerns the next generation of Earnshaws and Lintons. Subsequent adaptations took a similar tact, including one in 1970 that starred future James Bond Timothy Dalton. A 1992 version, starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, sought to cover the entirety of Brontë’s story. Andrea Arnold’s 2011 iteration focuses mostly on Catherine and Heathcliff’s adolescence. A new take by Emerald Fennell is scheduled for 2026, with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.