5 swoon-worthy period dramas adapted to films, series

CHENNAI: Certain literary classics are known for their timeless quality and their ability to spark an endless charm through generations. They still hold a significant place for today’s modern listeners. Audible, a leading provider of spoken-word entertainment, brings to you a roundup of some of the most classic love stories, each with an exceptional narrator offering you an immersive experience.

While you may have read some of these stories below or watched their screen adaptations, you’ve certainly never heard them like this before!

PERSUASION BY JANE AUSTEN:

About the Title: Persuasion is one of Jane Austen’s best creations. It is a poignant tale of marital expectation and delayed love, Persuasion tells the story of Anne Elliot who, at the age of 27, is viewed by polite society as a washed-up spinster. Eight years earlier, on the advice of her widowed father, Sir Walter, Anne was persuaded to break off her engagement to a young naval officer on the basis that his low rank and background would have harmed the family’s social standing. Now the Elliots are on the brink of financial ruin due to Sir Walter’s overspending and have been forced to rent out their family home. Meanwhile, the war with France is over and among the returning soldiers is one Frederick Wentworth, Anne’s former fiancé, now a well-travelled and wealthy captain. After the passage or irrecoverable years of their youth, their reunion forces a recognition of the false values that drove them apart.

About the Audiobook: The story is brought to life by actress Greta Scacchi’s narration. The audiobook is available for free for listeners in India on Audible starting 20 July onwards.

About the Movie: Available on Netflix starring Dakota Johnson as the older, quietly intellectual protagonist along with Cosmo Jarvis as Captain Frederick Wentworth, Richard E. Grant as Sir Walter Elliot and Henry Golding as Mr. William Elliot among others.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE BY JANE AUSTEN:

About the Title: Pride & Prejudice is another Jane Austen classic. This is a story of headstrong and independent Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. When Elizabeth Bennet meets Fitzwilliam Darcy for the first time at a ball, she writes him off as an arrogant and obnoxious man. He not only acts like an insufferable snob, but she also overhears him rejecting the very idea of asking her for a dance! As life pits them against each other again and again, Darcy begins to fall for Elizabeth's wit and intelligence and Elizabeth begins to question her feelings about Darcy. When Darcy saves her youngest sister, Lydia, from a scandal, Elizabeth starts to wonder if her pride has prejudiced her opinion of Darcy. Through this tale of two warring hearts, Austen weaves a witty satire about life in eighteenth century England. And through it was published more than two centuries ago, Pride and Prejudice continues to enthrall readers to this very day.

About the Audiobook: Narrated by actress Emma Messenger, the audiobook is available for free for listeners in India on Audible.

About the Movie: Available on Netflix starring Keira Knightley as the lead Elizabeth Bennet, Matthew Macfadyen as her romantic interest Mr. Darcy and Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Bennet.

SENSE & SENSIBILITY BY JANE AUSTEN:

About the Title: Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are sisters with opposing temperaments – Elinor is prudent, rational and responsible; Marianne is passionate, excitable and emotional. When Marianne is abandoned by an unscrupulous suitor, she is disconsolate, driving herself to a serious illness. Elinor, meanwhile, is dealing with her own betrayal but is stoic, refusing to reveal her emotions to even those closest to her. The sisters must navigate the misery of heartbreak in a society where status and money determine the outcomes of love and marriage. And to find happiness, they must learn to accept that both sense and sensibility are intertwined.

About the Audiobook: Narrated by actress Susannah Harker, the audiobook is available for free for listeners in India on Audible.

About the Movie: Available on Netflix starring Emma Thompson as Elinor Dashwood, Kate Winslet as Elinor's younger sister Marianne and Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman as their respective suitors.

LITTLE WOMEN BY LOUISA MAY ALCOTT:

About the Title: This classic coming-of-age tale by Louisa May Alcott follows the lives of four sisters against a backdrop of the American Civil War and takes place in and around the girls’ New England home. This great American novel demonstrates Alcott's extraordinary talent at portraying the joys and struggles of family life in an unforgettable way. Generations of people - young and old, male and female - have fallen in love with the March sisters. This classic of young adult fiction transcends genre, gender, and class with its examination of personal quests, societal restrictions, family ties, and the end of innocence.

About the Audiobook: This audio original dramatisation of Little Women stars a full cast led by two-time Academy Award-nominee, four-time Golden Globe-winner, and Emmy winner Laura Dern (Little Women, Big Little Lies, Jurassic Park), along with veteran narrators Suzanne Toren, Lauren Fortgang, Allison Hiroto, Emily Bauer, and Carly Robins. The audiobook is available for free for listeners in India on Audible.

About the Movie: Available on Netflix starring Susan Sarandon as Abigail "Marmee" March, the mother of the March daughters and the loving wife of Mr. March, Winona Ryder as Josephine "Jo" March, an ambitious young woman, who longs to become a successful author and Gabriel Byrne as Friedrich Bhaer, an older professor who falls in love with Jo while he works as a tutor in New York and eventually marries her.

BRIDGERTON: THE DUKE and I BY JULIA QUINN:

About the Title: The first novel in Julia Quinn's worldwide best-selling Bridgerton novels, this is the story of Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke: welcome to the ballrooms of Regency London. Can there be any greater challenge to London's Ambitious Mamas than an unmarried duke? Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1813. By all accounts, Simon Basset is on the verge of proposing to his best friend's sister, the lovely - and almost-on-the-shelf - Daphne Bridgerton. But the two of them know the truth - it's all an elaborate plan to keep Simon free from marriage-minded society mothers. And as for Daphne, surely she will attract some worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable. Their ruse works like a charm - at first. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, it's hard to remember that their courtship is a complete sham. Maybe it's his devilish smile, certainly it's the way his eyes seem to burn every time he looks at her. It wasn't the plan, but it seems she's falling for the duke, for real. And amidst the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London's elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule.

About the Audiobook: Narrated by actress Rosalyn Landor, the audiobook is available for free for listeners in India on Audible.

About the Series: Available on Netflix starring Regé-Jean Page in his breakout role as Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings in the first series of the Netflix period drama along with Phoebe Harriet Dynevor as Daphne, the fourth Bridgerton child, Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury, Julie Andrews as the unseen narrator Lady Whistledown and Lorraine Ashbourne as Mrs. Varley among others.