A classic novel is usually seen to be a novel that influenced the development of writing as much as it influenced the culture of its times. Oftentimes, they're revered because of how timeless they are, and how likely newer readers are to take them up.

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Sometimes though, it can help to cement a novel as a classic by giving it a memorable film adaptation, one that expresses some of a filmmaker's style whilst still honoring the text. But it's a job easier said than done, and some of history's most acclaimed novels never get the adaptation they deserve. Here are Reddit's picks for the novels that most deserve a modern treatment.

The Secret History

Image of The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Though a relatively recently published novel, it would be hard to not consider The Secret History as a classic. Reaching unlikely heights with outstanding commercial success as well as critical, the novel is also credited with starting the ‘dark academia’ sub-genre.

So, it’s no surprise that Reddit users are eager to see a film adaptation that honors the aesthetic so vividly conveyed by the words of The Secret History by Donna Tartt. But beyond the aesthetic, there also lies a brooding murder plot flush with unique characters just waiting to be filled out by some talented actors.

Blood Meridian

Image of Judge Holden from Blood Meridian

Though it would certainly make for a challenging adaptation, which fans like lxsadnax are first to admit, writing "it would have to be slow paced, depressing, probably quite long, have a pretty big budget and be very very very violent" many are still keen on their demands for Blood Meridian’to make it on screen. One of Cormac McCarthy’s famous "existential western" novels, Blood Meridian’s story follows a team of ‘scalp hunters’ - a very real profession of men who hunted indigenous Americans for their bounties.

A bloody, brutal foray into a vicious landscape, this novel becomes an almost dreamscape of hell itself, marking it as McCarthy’s most violent piece published to date. His most famous novel has already been adapted into a film, The Road, which came with a tragic ending that left audiences reeling.

Lord Of The Flies

Lord Of The Flies 1990

The deserted island setting has yielded many successful films, and Lord of the Flies has itself been adapted to some success back in 1990. However, that hasn’t stopped fans like RespectThyHypnotoad from desiring a new, fresher take on the classic tale from William Golding, writing "I know it's been done but I'd like a new one."

Serving as a kind of microcosm of society, the plot follows a group of boys stranded by an airplane crash on an uninhabited island deep in the Pacific. Forming their version of democracy and order, it’s a sadly prophetic story about the inequalities of life and the power of tribalism.

A Tale Of Two Cities

Still image of 1935's A Tale Of Two Cities

There are few more recognizable characters than those created by Charles Dickens, from Oliver Twist to David Copperfield to Ebenezer Scrooge, and though those have reached the big-screen potential they deserve, Reddit User staralfur01 points out the characters of 'A Tale of Two Cities' have yet to find their footing on the big screen.

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Using a variety of characters to explore the political upset that charged the French Revolution, the sprawling nature of this novel is possibly why it hasn’t received an adaptation that manages to portray both its scale and depth accurately.

Frankenstein

Dr. Frankenstein and his monster.

Though one of the most adapted stories ever, contemporary versions of the Frankenstein tale often move away from the source material and focus more on the characters themselves. Yorgos Lanthimos is even tackling his reimagining of Frankenstein. This is likely because the original story, as one Redditor writes, is "a cerebral book so an adaptation would be difficult."

Though portraying that feeling may be difficult, it’s the dynamic between Frankenstein and the creature that ultimately makes for such an evocative tale behind the gothic tone of the story. With a journey that crosses multiple countries and places the pair against each other in increasing tensions, the original story is an almost cat and mouse tale that would be fitting of many modern-day filmmaker’s styles.

The Catcher In The Rye

Image of the Catcher in the Rye book

Teenage rebellion is not exactly unfamiliar territory for Hollywood to venture into, and The Catcher in the Rye is likely the most significant tale of rebellion to ever make it into the American zeitgeist. Surprisingly, the book hasn’t been made into a film, and there are plenty of fans like Belfour-over-Hoffort that want just that - though this user may be unique in that they "hadn't thought of who'd play in it."

But the truth is that J.D Salinger, the author behind the novel, simply didn't want the book turned into a movie. For reasons further explained in The New York Times, the author felt that the first-person narrative was essential to the telling of the story. It’s hard to argue with the logic, but it won’t stop fans hoping to see Holden Caulfield, miserable and proud, daydreaming around New York.

Moby Dick

In the Heart of the Sea Moby Dick Movie PosterIn the Heart of the Sea Moby Dick Movie Poster (Review)

Though often thought of as a slow, meditative work, Moby Dick contains a host of high-adrenaline moments that would make it perfect for a modern onscreen adaptation. One Redditor even suggests that the eccentric leader of the whale-hunting expedition should be played by an equally eccentric actor, writing "Nicolas Cage as Captain Ahab."

The captain’s descent into madness is likely the most recognizable part of Moby Dick, and that’s part of what makes it so fascinating to consider what an on-screen adaptation would look like. Whether the adaptation ventured into the harpoon-wielding times it was originally set or moved into the modern age, it's the character dynamics that will always shine through.

One Hundred Years Of Solitude

Image of One Hundred Years of Solitude cover

The term ‘magical realism’ is often overused in literary criticism, but for One Hundred Years Of Solitude, there couldn't be a better descriptor This beautiful generational tale is as tragic as it is poetic, and uniquely entertaining in its intentional repetitions that serve to further accentuate its central feeling of isolation.

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The town of Macondo, the central space of the story, goes through so many transmutations that it would surely be a dream for any filmmaker to work with. As well, there is a cast of characters that branch from revolutionaries to schoolteachers, all vividly different yet fatally the same. Though many, like Redditor rovillar93, want it to be "Not a movie, but a TV series", there is clear potential for it as a feature too.

A Confederacy Of Dunces

Image of a stage adaptation of A Confederacy of Dunces

Another modern classic, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel only reached publication in 1980, eleven years after the death of its writer. Framing a disenfranchised character in the American South, the comical novel is a meandering story of a learned man finding ridicule of anything perceived to be modern, rarely realizing his blatant hypocrisy.

The book has been in developmental purgatory for over 40 years, with directors like Steven Soderbergh even attributing a curse to the job of adapting it. But, with no firm reason as for it not to be made, Reddit fans are expecting a director to eventually be attached, with one user writing "they would have to love the material, New Orleans and be able to juggle a lot of storylines and characters."

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

Image of Shadow Over Innsmouth cover

Fans are ravenous for anything from H. P. Lovecraft to make it as a feature film. Unfortunately for filmmakers though, the writer was prone to writing in a short-story format, contributing to an infamous overarching ‘lore’ more than a consistent, canonical plot.

But if any novel or novella of Lovecraft was to be turned into a modern feature it would likely be The Shadow Over Innsmouth, the only of his stories to be published in book form within his lifetime. The book delves into the popular Cthulhu mythos and is a more action-packed read than Lovecraft's usual style, making Redditors like dagonesque very hopeful about a potential adaptation, who writes "if they make a Shadow Over Innsmouth film, I'll see it a million times." Hopefully, a fresher version would yield better results than the 2020s The Deep Ones or the short-lived Lovecraft Country.

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