Classics Retold or Reimagined

The classics are books that lots of people are familiar with, whether you had to read them in your high school English class or just enjoy reading for fun. There are lots and lots of contemporary books that have been written as sequels, retellings, or reimagings of these classic works. This post will cover some of them, and there is a bibliography on the website and by the catalog computers if you would like to find out about more. Give one a try and see if the author was able to catch the same feeling or capture your interest in the same way that the classic does. Happy reading!

FIC ADRIAN / Chris Adrian              

Based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

The Great Night                                                        

FIC AIKEN / Joan Aiken                           

A sequel to Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Eliza’s Daughter                                                     

FIC BORCHERT / Don Borchert           

Based on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Undead         

FIC BROOKS / Geraldine Brooks

Based on Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

March                                                                                     

FIC CLINCH / Jon Clinch           

Based on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Finn                                                                                        

SF CORNWALL / Emma Cornwall                    
Based on Dracula by Bram Stoker

Incarnation                                                                           

FIC ESSEX / Karen Essex                       

Based on Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula in Love                                                                    

FIC GRAND / Porter Grand

Based on Little Women by Louisa May Alcott               

Little Women and Werewolves                                          

FIC HAMBLY / Barbara Hambly

Based on Dracula by Bram Stoker                      

Renfield: Slave of Dracula                                                 

FIC HART / Lenore  Hart                    

Based on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Becky: The Life and Loves of Becky Thatcher               

MYS HOROWITZ / Anthony Horowitz              

Based on The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The House of Silk                                                                

FIC JORDAN / Hillary Jordan                             

Based on The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

When She Woke                                                                 

FIC KALPAKIA / Laura Kalpakian                     

A Sequel to Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Cosette: The Sequel to Les Miserables                          

MYS KING / Laurie King                          

Based on The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes Series

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice                                             

A Monstrous Regiment of Women                                   

A Letter of Mary                                                                    

The Moor                                                                               

O Jerusalem                                                                         

Justice Hall                                                                           

The Game                                                                            

Locked Rooms                                                                     

The Language of Bees                                                       

The God of the Hive                                                            

Pirate King                                                                            

Garment of Shadows                                                         

FIC KOONTZ / Dean Koontz                               

Based on Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein Series

Prodigal Son                                                                         

Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Prodigal Son     (graphic novel)

City of Night                                                                          

Dead and Alive                                                                    

Lost Souls                                                                             

The Dead Town                                                                   

SF LAMPLIGH / L. Jagi Lamplighter                 

Based on The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Prospero’s Daughter Series

Prospero Lost                                                                          

Prospero in Hell                                                                   

Prospero Regained                                                             

FIC LIVESEY / Margot Livesey              

Based on Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Flight of Gemma Hardy                                               

FIC MAGUIRE / Gregory Maguire & Douglas Smith 

Based on The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Wicked Years Series                                                  

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West                       

Son of a Witch                                                                      

A Lion Among Men                                                             

Out of Oz                                                                              

SF MIEVILLE / China Mieville                            

Based on Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Railsea                                                                                

FIC MOORE / Christopher Moore                      

Based on King Lear by William Shakespeare

Fool                                                                                       

FIC SMILEY / Jane Smiley                                   
Based on King Lear by William Shakespeare

A Thousand Acres                                                              

FIC SNODIN / David Snodin                               

Based on Othello by William Shakespeare       

Iago                                                                                  

FIC STOKER / Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt

A sequel to Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula: The Un-Dead                                                       

FIC URBACH / Linda Urbach                             

Based on Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary’s Daughter                                              

FIC WINTERS / Ben H. Winters

Based on Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Android Karenina                                                                

Based on Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters                                    

Some found in the Young Adult section:

YP FIC ANDERSON / Jodi Lynn Anderson

Based on Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

Tiger Lily                                                                                

YP FIC CHAPMAN / Lara Chapman                                         

Based on Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

Flawless                                                                                       

YP FIC GAUGHEN / A.C. Gaughen                   

Based on The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

Scarlet                                                                                          

YP FIC GRIFFIN

Adele Griffin

Based on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Tighter                                                                                                     

Bethany Griffin

Based on The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe

Masque of the Red Death                                                  

YP FIC JAY / Stacey Jay              

Based on Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Juliet Immortal                                                                      

Romeo Redeemed                                                              

YP FIC PRATCHET / Terry Pratchett

Based on Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Dodger    

              

Flambards DVD by Yorkshire Television

This series of 13 episodes is based on the books of the same name by K.M. Peyton.  It got top reviews in England when it was aired in 1979, and it was shown in the United States on PBS in 1980.  Christina, a young woman of 16, is an orphan who has been brought up by a series of maiden aunts.  Now she is sent to her uncle’s Yorkshire estate, called Flambards, to live with him and his two sons until she turns 21 and can claim the inheritance from her dead parents.  The trick is that the widowed uncle, crippled by a hunting accident, has ruined the estate and needs her (her money).  He hopes that bringing her to live with him and his two sons will result in her marrying Mark, the handsome but insufferable older son.  However, Christina, just as in the books, can think very well for herself, thank you.

I enjoyed the series so much that I also read the books.  The series starts out a bit grimly, and is not so immediately entertaining as some other British series, such as Downton Abbey.  The uncle does nothing but drink and listen to stories of hunting from Mark, who shares his enthusiasm for both.  The house is cold and dark and unkept, with only a few faithful servants left to oversee the stables and the kitchen.  One’s heart tends to gulp for Christina, ordered about by Mark and his father.  But the other brother is much more to her liking – sensitive and living chiefly for his interest in aeroplane design.  This is the early 1900’s, and planes are just beginning.   A new age is dawning and challenging the old, with automobiles, women’s rights, and a new working class coming up in England, one that can’t so easily be put in its place.  And then the War comes, and it has its own part in changing things.

Christina learns to ride and actually loves it, and she is good at it.  She learns to love the land and the horses too, and even hunting.  She is really something to watch, and Christine  McKenna portrays her tremendously well.   The other actors are good,  as well.  I recommend you just try the first episode…you probably won’t be able to stop with just that one. 

 

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas is, as his name states, odd. Not too many people in his small town of Pico Mundo, California know just how "odd" he really is. Odd can see and touch dead people, but they cannot talk to him. They have ways of communicating their needs, though, and Odd helps them with their unfinished business. Since he has this special talent, Odd tries to keep the rest of his life as simple as he can. He works as a short-order cook at the Pico Mundo Grill and can make a mean hamburger or pancake (depending on what you are in the mood for). Unfortunately, circumstances start lining up to tell Odd that something bad is coming to his town, and he tries to follow the signs to stay ahead of whats coming. Odd has helpers in his girlfriend, Stormy (his soul mate), the police chief, Wyatt Porter, resident author, Little Ozzie (and his cat Terrible Chester), and even the ghost of Elvis Presley, but will any of them be enough to handle the evil that is coming to their town on August 15th in the form of a creepy psychopath?

Odd Thomas was published in 2003, but the story is soon going to be a full length motion picture (though it is hard to get a solid release date to post on the blog). I personally am not a scary movie/book fan, but I found myself really enjoying Odd Thomas. He is an easy character to like, and I found myself being drawn more and more into these crazy couple of days that he is relating in his "memoir" (which he states Little Ozzie made him write to document the events). I am listening to the book, and it is a very enjoyable listen. The sixth book in the series, Deeply Odd, is coming out on May 28th, and the library has the first five books in regular print, large print, and audio book. Give them a try!

FIC KOONTZ, LP FIC KOONTZ, and AD FIC KOONTZ

Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost

Cat Crawfield is a half-vampire (the only one that she knows of), and she hunts the undead at night, hoping to someday run into the father that ruined her mother's life. One night, Cat finds more than she bargained for when she meets vampire bounty hunter, Bones. Bones (after kidnapping her) tells her that like humans, vampires are both good and bad, and he brings an unwilling Cat into a partnership, by which Cat will train with Bones in exchange for his help in finding her father. Later on, Cat will become an agent with the FBI, working to get rid of the more dangerous undead, but will she be able to stay away from the vampire who taught her most of the tricks of the trade?  Later books in the series are the stories of Bones' friend, Spade, his mentor, Mencheres, and his arch rival (but good friend of Cat's), Vlad Tepes (yes that's the one you think it is). This series is a lot of fun. I really enjoyed all of the characters (especially Bones) in this paranormal fiction series, and Jeaniene Frost does a great job of getting you to really care about them and the things they are going through. There are also a lot of moments that will make you chuckle. I highly recommend it.



Halfway to the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
At Grave's End
Destined for an Early Grave
This Side of the Grave
One Grave at a Time




Spade's Story: First Drop of Crimson
Menchere's Story: Eternal Kiss of Darkness
Vlad's Story: Once Burned (Night Prince series)


FIC FROST

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Fans of mystery, historical fiction and romance will all find something to like in Deanna Raybourn's highly enjoyable Silent in the Grave (FIC RAYBOURN), the first title in the Lady Julia Grey series.

Raybourn plunges readers into the action from Page 1, where we find Lady Julia's husband, Edward Grey, in his death throes at a dinner party. After her husband's abrupt death, Lady Julia is approached by the enigmatic Nicholas Brisbane, a private inquiry agent recently hired by Edwards to look into a series of written threats he'd received. Brisbane suspects foul play in Edward Grey's death.

Widowhood proves a turning point for Lady Julia, until now a proper Victorian wife who's felt increasingly stifled in a passionless marriage. Although there was affection between her and her husband, their relationship has never gone much further than their childhood fondness for each other. She blossoms into her own as she investigates her husband's murder.

This development is further enlivened by her repartee with the obstinate Brisbane, a loner if there ever was one, who's extremely reluctant to work with Lady Julia. His anti-social tendencies, crankiness and mysterious past (not to mysterious abilities), coupled with Julia's growing self-confidence and her determination to find the killer make for extremely entertaining scenes.

Set in 1886, the story also introduces us to Lady Julia's family, the Marches, for whom eccentricity is a birthright just as much as their aristocracy is. We also meet many of the servants in Julia's household. Many of these people will play important and surprising roles in the secrets that Julia and Brisbane unearth in this story.

Silent in the Grave is a historical mystery with romantic elements. Although the sensuality in this book is mild, when Julia and Brisbane are in the same room together, Raybourn's writing makes their attraction crackle. I quite like the pace of their relationship as well; the author has opted for a slow but steady trickle of development rather than a torrent. This means there's much to look forward to in the four novels that follow in the series.

Charley Davidson Series by Darynda Jones

Darynda Jones submitted her manuscript for the first book in the series, First Grave on the Right, and won the 2009 Golden Heart Award for Best Paranormal Romance from Romance Writers of America, which was an award given for manuscripts of unpublished authors. This led to the publishing of that manuscript, and Jones has since released three more books in the series. I personally would not call this series a "paranormal romance." There are elements of romance within the series, but it has more of the urban fantasy feel to me, and Charley has several mysteries to solve in each book, which is why it can be found in our mystery section. Charlotte (Charley) Davidson is a private investigator in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and she is also the Grim Reaper. Charley can see and touch dead people, which is a big help to her uncle, Bob (a homicide detective), as she can give him an edge on the person who committed the murder. People who have not passed on, for whatever reason, can see her (to them she is a great beacon of light), and they can use her to pass through to the "other side." Charley will also help them with their "unfinished business," if it is at all possible for her. Charley has also always been able to see "The Big Bad," a black cloaked figure who always shows up to save her whenever she gets into danger and is in way over her head. Charley also has great friends in her office manager and best friend, Cookie, her bond enforcement agent friend, Garret Swopes, a savant ghost who knows everyone who has passed, Rocket, and various other people she manages to charm with her quick wit and snarkiness. Throughout the series, Charley will find that she can do a lot more things than even she could imagine, and she learns more about the "Big Bad," how  they are connected, and how their connection could lead to another war between heaven and hell. She also solves a lot of mysteries in between.

I listened to the series, and I really enjoyed it. The series is read by Lorelei King, who also reads the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs and several of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I found myself chuckling all throughout the series, especially at the little witticisms found at the beginning of each chapter (from various t-shirt designs and bumper stickers). It is a fun read, and I highly recommend it.


First Grave on the Right
Second Grave on the Left
Third Grave Dead Ahead
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet

MYS JONES and AD MYS JONES