Jane Austen. Mary Shelly. Shakespeare. F Scott Fitzgerald. These are just a few names that line the shelves of libraries and make up the classics. You know, classic! Those dry old stories your high school English teachers made you read? If you're like most young adults, studying the English Literary Canon was a draining experience. Those of us who actually enjoyed it are the minority, we know.
But the internet has brought about a new and exciting age where stories can be retold in a completely new format, bringing them to the attention of a new generation. In this list, I will give you five (ish) classic books remade into webseries. Some even award-winning.
1. The Lizzie Bennett Diaries
What if Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," had a video blog? What if she was a graduate student just trying to make her way in the world of Mr. William Darcy, owner of Pemberley Digital. Originally written in 1813 and retold beginning in 2012, this webseries follows the familiar plot and all its recognizable characters - from Lizzie herself to Darcy and Jane and Bingly and Kitty, and Fitz. Since it was started by online creator Hank Green and Bernie Su, it has won four Streamy Awards, one Emmy, and one award from the International Academy of Web Television. You may recognize one of its stars Laura Spencer (Jane Bennet) for her time on "The Big Bang Theory" as Emily Sweeney.
2. Frankenstein, MD
A lesser known and lesser appreciated class, "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelly, tells the story of young medical student Victor Frankenstein who performs eccentric experiments resulting in the creation of a horrifying but sentient creature. This is a much shorter webseries (only 24 episodes) but just as exciting. Victoria Frankenstein is also a medical student, but is nowhere near the original character in his... well... eccentricity. If you've read the actual novel, you'll know what I mean. Still, the webseries adapts the original story's Gothic tone while also translating well to a webseries format. My suggestion? Be prepared for chills, and don't watch the later episodes in the dark.
3. Jane Eyre
One of the lesser-read classic (its size is daunting enough, much less its subject matter), Jane Eyre was written by Charlotte Bronte and published in 1847 under the pen name Currer Bell. It's a thoughtful and heart-wrenching novel, and a bit of a coming-of-age tale, though it's nothing like the contemporary reads you see in bookstores today.
According to its Wikipedia article, the novel follows "Jane's childhood at Gateshead Hall, where she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she acquires friends and role models but suffers privations and oppression; her time as governess at Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with her employer, Edward Rochester; her time with the Rivers family, during which her earnest but cold clergyman cousin, St. John Rivers, proposes to her; and her reunion with, and marriage to, her beloved Rochester." And that's not even the strangest part. But I won't spoil that for you. The life story of Jane Eyre is, in a word, haunting. And this webseries brings out all the best bits of the tale.
4. Emma Approved
Based on a significantly lesser-known Jane Austen novel, "Emma," this webseries was awarded a Creative Arts Emmy Award for "Outstanding Original Interactive Program" in 2015. Emma is a young entrepreneur particularly interested in lifestyle, event planning, and romance. The webseries follows her and a stunning cast of characters through a series of loosely-tied adventures, during which their own lives and stories are revealed. And for fans of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, by the same creators, there are definitely some easter eggs for you in this series! You may recognize one of the stars Brent Bailey (Alex Knightly) from his appearance in "Criminal Minds" (2013) or his upcoming appearance as John F Kennedy's speechwriter in the 2016 film LBJ, following the story of US President Lyndon B Johnson.
5. The March Family Letters
Based on the much-loved story "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott, this webseries tells the stories, adventures, and hilarity that ensues in a house full of sisters in 1868, one of whom refuses to be content with the limits placed on women during that time. Personally, this is one of my favorite classic novels to read and reread. Seeing at adapted was a joy and spending time with the March family in a new way was charming as ever.
6. BONUS TIME!
I couldn't talk about literature making its way to YouTube without mentioning CrashCourse Literature. This is not a true webseries. Instead, it's a series of lessons led by online creator and author John Green that covers dozens of books and authors that most high school and college students will come across at some point. Along with Literature, CrashCourse has covered Psychology, history, world history (twice!), chemistry, biology, physics, and many more subjects. John and Hank Green also announced at Vidcon this year that coming very soon an entire CrashCourse curriculum including textbooks and Common Core tools will be available online to educators around the world. The first subject to be tackled will be history, but hopefully Literature will be coming soon!
