8 Books Based On Classics

Belzhar isn’t exactly a retelling of Plath’s most famous work, but it’s certainly a tribute. A troubled teenager dealing with the death of her boyfriend is sent to a therapeutic boarding school to recover—and a semester spent journaling and reading The Bell Jar creates a powerful and therapeutic experience for her and her fellow students.

Andi Teran rewrites the story of Anne of Green Gables from the perspective of a Latina teenager struggling through the Californian social service system. This Ana is every bit as feminist and strong as the original redheaded orphan, and a little more relatable to boot.

Helen Oyeyemi’s second novel uses the classic Snow White conceit to explore issues of race in 1950s America. The wicked stepmother banishing her daughter for being too fair is seen in a whole new light here, and the villain isn’t quite so easy to spot—but vanity and envy still act as poison in her re-interpretation.

John Updike’s retelling of Tristan and Isolde is set in Brazil and spans over two decades, beginning in the 1960s and ending in the 1980s. Like the original medieval legend, Updike’s is also a tragic love story: a boy from a slum of Rio falls in love with a white girl from a privileged family, and together they must flee into the far-reaching jungles in order to escape her family’s judgment.

A Thousand Acres is Jane Smiley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, set in the vast expanses of the American Midwest. A farmer decides to divide his 1,000-acre farm between his three daughters. When the youngest daughter, Caroline, objects, she sparks a series of events that bring a thick cloud of derision and rivalry over the farm and family, as everyone eventually reveals the true nature of their character.

On Beauty is more of an homage to E. M. Forster’s Howards End than a retelling. The main themes are there, along with several plot points (and even a few direct quotes)—but Smith’s wit, humor, and sharp dissection of ethnic and cultural dynamics make this a novel all her own.

Geraldine Brooks’s work of historical fiction imagines the beloved Little Women story from the perspective of the March girls’ father, who leaves his family to join the Union army’s forces. Against the backdrop of the Civil War, March’s deepest beliefs are challenged as he rediscovers his marriage from afar.

If you never got around to reading Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, don’t stress: Miéville’s parody-tribute Railsea will get you up to speed. This gloriously inventive fantasy novel replaces the eponymous whale from Moby-Dick with a giant mole—and it only gets stranger from there.