By the book: The Count Of Monte Cristo and the best TV adaptations of classic novels

The intricate plotting! The beautiful costumes! The incredible locations! The repressed emotions! Yep, we love a period drama on TV, and we firmly believe that the best ones of all are those based on cherished classic novels. Not the boring ones that sent you to sleep when you read them at school, but the books that have stood the test of time because they’re exciting, romantic, action-packed stories that you can’t wait to devour.

We’re talking about books like The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s epic tale of love, loss, betrayal and vengeance – and there’s great news, because it’s coming to your telly this week! This historical adventure drama stars Sam Claflin (Daisy Jones & The Six) and Jeremy Irons (House Of Gucci), and as a large-scale international co-production, was shot in amazing locations in France, Italy and Malta. Basically, it’s everything we want from a TV version of a literary classic and we’re eager to get stuck into it.

The Count Of Monte Cristo begins on Saturday 2 August at 9pm on U&Drama HD (CH 116), when all episodes will be available in Apps > U and in On Demand > U&Drama.

When sailor Edmond Dantès (Claflin) is rewarded for his heroics at sea, he dreams of marrying his beloved Mercedes (Ana Girardot, The Returned) and enjoying a happy life. But the envious Danglars (Blake Ritson, The Gilded Age) has other ideas. He conspires against Dantès, falsifying evidence that Dantès is a traitor, and has him imprisoned in the island fortress of the Château d’If.

Despite years of incarceration, Dantès does not fall into despair and eventually meets Abbé Faria (Irons), who shows him how to escape and tells him of a treasure hidden on the island. After 15 long years, Dantès absconds, recovers the riches and travels to Paris as he plots revenge on those who caused his downfall, posing as the wealthy and enigmatic Count of Monte Cristo. But his path is a lonely and torturous one. Will he ever gain satisfaction and find his way back to his true love?

With celebrated director Bille August – a two-time Cannes Palme d’Or winner and recipient of numerous awards, including an Oscar, for his film Pelle The Conqueror – at the helm, and a talented international cast including Karla Simone-Spence (The Confessions Of Frannie Langton), Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (Borgen: Power & Glory) and Jason Barnett (Bridgerton), The Count Of Monte Cristo is set to be a fantastic addition to the canon of classic literary adaptations on TV.

TV versions of beloved literary classics never really go away but they’re certainly having a moment right now, with new versions of Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and Wuthering Heights in the works. If The Count Of Monte Cristo puts you in the mood to indulge in more meaty, multi-episode adaptations of time-honoured novels, we’ve put together what we think is the definitive list. Here are the rules we set:

• TV only – no movies

• One series per author

• Book published before 1950

• Period setting – no modern updates

• Human cast – no animation, animals or Muppets

• Available to stream right now

And here’s what we came up with. See if your favourite’s among them – and maybe discover, or rediscover, an all-time masterpiece.

Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer, Apps > U or in On Demand > U&Drama
Published 1813 • Broadcast 1995 • 6 episodes

By consensus, the greatest literary TV adaptation of all time. Jane Austen’s story of courtship and social mores among the Georgian gentry is the paramount enemies-to-lovers romance, and Andrew Davies’s witty version gave us Jennifer Ehle as the definitive Lizzie Bennet, David Bamber’s delightfully awful Mr Collins and a whole host of other treats including, of course, that moment when Mr Darcy (Colin Firth) emerged dripping wet from the lake. Lives were changed.

Stream it in Apps > ITVX
Published 1945 • Broadcast 1981 • 11 episodes

Still featuring prominently in “greatest ever TV shows” lists, Evelyn Waugh’s story of love, religion and addiction among the upper classes was brought vividly to life in this sumptuous drama, helped by dazzling locations such as Christ Church and Hertford Colleges in Oxford and Castle Howard in Yorkshire. It also assembled one of the most impressive casts of all time, led by future Oscar winner (and The Count Of Monte Cristo star) Jeremy Irons and featuring acting royalty in Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud… as well as Bill Owen (Compo in Last Of The Summer Wine).

Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer
Published 1853 • Broadcast 2005 • 15 episodes

It’s not cherished in the same way as other Charles Dickens works, but Andrew Davies – him again – turned the legal saga into a gripping and hugely entertaining drama by foregrounding the love story and, over 15 half-hour episodes, allowing the author’s memorably eccentric characters space to shine. Esther Summerson was the breakout role for Anna Maxwell Martin, who’s gone on to great things on screen, and Bleak House also showed us the versatility of Gillian Anderson, playing a splendid Lady Dedlock when best known as The X Files’ Dana Scully. It’s notable, too, as the first TV appearance for Carey Mulligan.

Stream it in Apps > U or in On Demand > U&Drama
Published 1845 • Broadcast 2021 • 3 episodes

Actor Emily Mortimer (Mary Poppins Returns, Paddington In Peru) showed her talent and versatility by scripting and directing this three-part series based on Mitford’s hugely successful novel about the love lives of two posh cousins, which helped set the template for the modern romance genre. Critics used terms like “glorious”, “delightful” and “extravagantly entertaining”, while the well-judged use of anachronistic music (The Who, T-Rex, New Order) gave it a distinctive modern twist. Did the mildly scandalous tabloid pictures of stars Lily James and Dominic West during filming bring an extra frisson? We couldn’t possibly say.

Stream it in Apps > Netflix
Published 1908 (Anne Of Green Gables) • Broadcast 2017-2019 • 27 episodes

This co-production between the CBC and Netflix used Lucy Maud Montgomery’s much-loved Canadian classic as a jumping-off point for one of the smartest and most rewarding teen dramas in years, its ability to explore hot social topics like abandonment trauma, gender inequality and racism unaffected by its early 20th century setting. Irish actor Amybeth McNulty is a spirited and charming lead, qualities that got her cast as Molly Ringwald-a-like Vickie in Stranger Things, and Geraldine James and RH Thomson are perfect as her bemused adoptive parents. When it was cancelled after three seasons, there was an outcry from its legions of devoted fans.

Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer
Published 1939 • Broadcast 2015 • 3 episodes

While we’ve seen countless TV and film versions of sleuths Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, the best Christie TV adaptation to date features no detectives at all. Scripted by Sarah Phelps (who’s written several Christie TV series including Witness For The Prosecution and Ordeal By Innocence), this atmospheric drama about a group of strangers – played by an all-star cast including Sam Neill, Aidan Turner and Miranda Richardson – who gather on a remote island and mysteriously die one by one is beautifully ominous and tension-filled. It’s one of the crime queen’s most loved works, and this gripping series does it justice and then some.

Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer
Published 1871 • Broadcast 1994 • 6 episodes

George Eliot’s sweeping, semi-autobiographical book about a provincial woman seeking intellectual betterment is frequently referred to as the “greatest novel in the English language”, and Andrew Davies brought it to the screen with style just before his Pride & Prejudice. Juliet Aubrey is terrific in the tricky role of the pious Dorothea, but the indelible performance is Rufus Sewell’s as the romantic Will, showcasing the epic cheekbones and devastating glower he’d bring to so many roles in future. And the Lincolnshire locations are lovely.

Stream it in Apps > BBC iPlayer
Published 1869 • Broadcast 2016 • 6 episodes

We’re not going to pretend we’ve read Leo Tolstoy’s hefty tome (comprising five interlocking narratives alongside historical and philosophical essays over more than 1,200 pages) but we sure did love this BBC version of the Napoleonic Wars saga with its superb cast of soon-to-be stars including Lily James, Jack Lowden, James Norton, Jessie Buckley and Tom Burke. Director Tom Harper made the most of grand shooting locations such as the Winter Palace in St Petersburg and Rundale Palace in Latvia, as well as grand actors like Brian Cox and Gillian Anderson (although our fave is Adrian Edmonson as the hopeless Count Rostov). Scripted, inevitably, by Andrew Davies.

Stream it in Apps > ITVX
Published 1749 (The History Of Tom Jones, A Foundling) • Broadcast 2023 • 4 episodes

The artform of the novel was still in its infancy when Henry Fielding’s masterwork was published but it still provided fertile material for a vibrant adaptation 274 years later. Scripted by Gwyneth Hughes (Mr Bates Vs The Post Office), it gave us a gorgeous and sparky Tom and Sophie in Solly McLeod and Sophia Wilde, and reminded us that we’re fortunate to be living in the Hannah Waddingham era by casting her as the scheming Lady Bellaston. Every great period drama needs a dramatic location, and Northern Ireland obliged with both unspoilt landscapes and imposing Georgian structures like Castle Ward, Myra Castle and Belfast’s Upper Crescent.

Stream it in Apps > Prime Video
Published 1938 (unfinished) • Broadcast 2023 • 8 episodes

Bridgerton may not be based on a novel from the canon of classics (Julia Quinn’s first book came out in 2000) but there’s no doubting its influence on modern literary adaptations. Edith Wharton’s tale of young upper-crust women who leave the USA to find a husband in Victorian Britain is awash with scandal, secrets and sauce, as well as some of the most fabulous costumes you’ve ever seen. It also has a terrific modern soundtrack, with songs provided exclusively by female artists (Warpaint, Sharon Van Etten, Gracie Abrams and many more). If you’re looking to sell a young person on the merits of period dramas, this is the show to turn to.