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Classic novels that became musicals
20
items From Les Misérables to Jane Eyre, the great novels that ended up on stage with music. Read the book first, then go and see the show.
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Favourites: Classic novels that became musicals
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 15+
An ex-convict seeking redemption is pursued for decades by a relentless police inspector, against the backdrop of revolutionary France.
Sprawling, devastating and ultimately hopeful — one of literature’s great tragic epics.
It became one of the longest-running musicals ever, and the songs are as famous as the book.
An ex-convict seeking redemption is pursued for decades by a relentless police inspector, against the backdrop of revolutionary France.
Sprawling, devastating and ultimately hopeful — one of literature’s great tragic epics.
It became one of the longest-running musicals ever, and the songs are as famous as the book.
Les Misérables - by Victor Hugo
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
A masked genius haunts the Paris Opera House, obsessed with a young singer.
Darker and stranger than the musical, with real gothic menace.
Andrew Lloyd Webber turned it into one of the most famous musicals of all time.
A masked genius haunts the Paris Opera House, obsessed with a young singer.
Darker and stranger than the musical, with real gothic menace.
Andrew Lloyd Webber turned it into one of the most famous musicals of all time.
The Phantom of the Opera - by Gaston Leroux
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
Quasimodo, the bell-ringer of Notre-Dame, and the Parisians who fear or love him in a story about cruelty and compassion.
The Disney version softens it; the book is far darker and better.
It became a musical.
Quasimodo, the bell-ringer of Notre-Dame, and the Parisians who fear or love him in a story about cruelty and compassion.
The Disney version softens it; the book is far darker and better.
It became a musical.
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame - by Victor Hugo
Main List
Main List: Classic novels that became musicals
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
An orphan escapes a workhouse and lands among London’s pickpockets and criminals.
Gloomy, funny and moving.
It became the musical Oliver!.
An orphan escapes a workhouse and lands among London’s pickpockets and criminals.
Gloomy, funny and moving.
It became the musical Oliver!.
Oliver Twist - by Charles Dickens
★★★★★ (5/5) — Ages 12+
Four sisters grow up together through hardship, ambition and love in Civil War-era Massachusetts.
A book that rewards rereading at every age — it changes as you do.
It has been staged as a Broadway musical.
Four sisters grow up together through hardship, ambition and love in Civil War-era Massachusetts.
A book that rewards rereading at every age — it changes as you do.
It has been staged as a Broadway musical.
Little Women - by Louisa May Alcott
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 12+
A talkative orphan girl is sent by mistake to a farm in Prince Edward Island and wins the hearts of everyone around her.
Warm and funny; it has been a stage musical in Canada for decades.
A talkative orphan girl is sent by mistake to a farm in Prince Edward Island and wins the hearts of everyone around her.
Warm and funny; it has been a stage musical in Canada for decades.
Anne of Green Gables - by L. M. Montgomery
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 12+
A lonely girl finds a locked garden on a Yorkshire estate and, with it, a way to heal herself and the people around her.
Gentle and magical. It became a Broadway musical in 1991.
A lonely girl finds a locked garden on a Yorkshire estate and, with it, a way to heal herself and the people around her.
Gentle and magical. It became a Broadway musical in 1991.
The Secret Garden - by Frances Hodgson Burnett
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 14+
A governess's feelings for her brooding employer are complicated by a rival suitor and the secrets hidden in his own house.
A classic slow-burn romance with real moral weight behind every choice.
It has been staged as a Broadway musical.
A governess's feelings for her brooding employer are complicated by a rival suitor and the secrets hidden in his own house.
A classic slow-burn romance with real moral weight behind every choice.
It has been staged as a Broadway musical.
Jane Eyre - by Charlotte Bronte
★★★★★ (5/5) — Ages 15+
A shy new bride moves into her husband's estate and finds herself haunted by the presence of his first wife.
Atmospheric and slow-burning — the dread creeps in until you can't stop reading.
It has been staged as a musical in Europe.
A shy new bride moves into her husband's estate and finds herself haunted by the presence of his first wife.
Atmospheric and slow-burning — the dread creeps in until you can't stop reading.
It has been staged as a musical in Europe.
Rebecca - by Daphne du Maurier
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
A respectable London doctor and a violent stranger keep turning up in the same circles, and a lawyer slowly works out why.
Short, sharp and still unsettling — the original split-personality story.
It became the stage musical Jekyll & Hyde.
A respectable London doctor and a violent stranger keep turning up in the same circles, and a lawyer slowly works out why.
Short, sharp and still unsettling — the original split-personality story.
It became the stage musical Jekyll & Hyde.
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 14+
A young solicitor's visit to a remote Transylvanian castle unleashes an ancient vampire on England.
The original vampire novel, and still creepier than most of what it inspired.
It has been staged as a Broadway musical.
A young solicitor's visit to a remote Transylvanian castle unleashes an ancient vampire on England.
The original vampire novel, and still creepier than most of what it inspired.
It has been staged as a Broadway musical.
Dracula - by Bram Stoker
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
London and Paris in the years before the French Revolution, and one man’s sacrifice for the woman he loves.
Famous first line, unforgettable last one.
It has been staged as a musical.
London and Paris in the years before the French Revolution, and one man’s sacrifice for the woman he loves.
Famous first line, unforgettable last one.
It has been staged as a musical.
A Tale of Two Cities - by Charles Dickens
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
A drawing master meets a mysterious woman in white on a moonlit road and is drawn into a plot of stolen identity.
One of the first great mystery novels.
Andrew Lloyd Webber turned it into a West End musical.
A drawing master meets a mysterious woman in white on a moonlit road and is drawn into a plot of stolen identity.
One of the first great mystery novels.
Andrew Lloyd Webber turned it into a West End musical.
The Woman in White - by Wilkie Collins
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 16+
Russian families in the years of the Napoleonic wars, with love, war and philosophy in one huge story.
Long, but a joy to read.
A section of it became the musical Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.
Russian families in the years of the Napoleonic wars, with love, war and philosophy in one huge story.
Long, but a joy to read.
A section of it became the musical Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.
War and Peace - by Leo Tolstoy
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
A runaway boy and an escaped slave travel down the Mississippi on a raft.
A classic of American literature.
It became the Tony-winning musical Big River.
A runaway boy and an escaped slave travel down the Mississippi on a raft.
A classic of American literature.
It became the Tony-winning musical Big River.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - by Mark Twain
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
An English hero rescues French aristocrats from the guillotine while hiding his identity behind a bored-fop act.
Swashbuckling and fun.
It became a Broadway musical in 1997.
An English hero rescues French aristocrats from the guillotine while hiding his identity behind a bored-fop act.
Swashbuckling and fun.
It became a Broadway musical in 1997.
The Scarlet Pimpernel - by Baroness Orczy
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 16+
A doctor and poet in revolutionary Russia is torn between two women and a country at war.
Epic and sad.
It has been staged as a musical.
A doctor and poet in revolutionary Russia is torn between two women and a country at war.
Epic and sad.
It has been staged as a musical.
Doctor Zhivago - by Boris Pasternak
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 12+
Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve and given one night to change.
Warm and spooky at once.
It has been a Broadway Christmas musical.
Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve and given one night to change.
Warm and spooky at once.
It has been a Broadway Christmas musical.
A Christmas Carol - by Charles Dickens
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
An old man who has read too many chivalric tales sets out as a knight, with his loyal squire Sancho Panza beside him.
Funny, sad and surprisingly modern.
It became the musical Man of La Mancha.
An old man who has read too many chivalric tales sets out as a knight, with his loyal squire Sancho Panza beside him.
Funny, sad and surprisingly modern.
It became the musical Man of La Mancha.
Don Quixote - by Miguel de Cervantes
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 14+
A mysterious millionaire's obsession with a married woman from his past drives the whole novel toward tragedy.
Short, sharp, and devastating — the triangle is the whole engine of the plot.
It became a Broadway musical in 2024.
A mysterious millionaire's obsession with a married woman from his past drives the whole novel toward tragedy.
Short, sharp, and devastating — the triangle is the whole engine of the plot.
It became a Broadway musical in 2024.
The Great Gatsby - by F. Scott Fitzgerald