(Photo by Focus Features/courtesy Everett Collection)
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Some literary quotes just live in our memory years after we wrapped 3rd period English class. And for good reason.
Classics endure because they’re endlessly adaptable. From Shakespearean tragedies to Austenian social satire, these stories and their complex characters are ripe for a new lens, interpretation, and reimagination with every generation that comes across their pages.
Book-to-screen adaptations have spawned some of the biggest movie franchises (J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter) and pop culture faves (Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel The Devil Wears Prada). But there’s something about classic literature — the corsets, the existential dread, the slow-burn longing across a windswept moor — that never gets old.
So as we officially enter the world of Wuthering Heights (in theaters on February 13, 2026) through director Emerald Fennell’s eyes, it’s time to look back at faithful adaptations and modernized retellings of classic literary stories. Think of this list as Hollywood’s take on your high school syllabus.
Based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
Adapted from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
Modernization of William Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew
Based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Based on William M. Thackerey’s The Luck of Barry Lyndon
Adapted from John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men
Based on Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo
Modernized adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
Based on Jane Austen’s Emma
Adapted from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities
Loosely based on Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina
Loosely based on Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers
Based on Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre
Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
Adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ The Vicomte de Bragelonne
Modern interpretation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment
Based on the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Based on H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds
WATCH: Stars Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Alison Oliver, Hong Chau,and Shazad Latif talk about the making of Wuthering Heights.
Find something Fresh! Discover what to watch, read reviews, leave ratings, and build watchlists. Download the Rotten Tomatoes App.