The Book Was Better.
There's something magical about the moment you discover a kindred spirit. For Janet Raye Stevens and me, that moment came with a simple "Here's looking at you, kid" – and just like that, we knew we'd be friends.
(NOTE - This post must be view on Substack to be read in its entirety.)
I've had the privilege of working as Janet's assistant for years, but our professional relationship turned into something much more when we discovered our shared love of classic cinema. Janet doesn't just appreciate old movies; she studied them. Film school is where she not only honed her craft of storytelling but also met her husband – now that's what I call a perfect plot twist.
Janet has become my go-to person whenever I have a burning movie question (and trust me, there are many). Her insights always come with the kind of depth that only someone who truly understands the art of storytelling can provide. Plus, she has the most marvelous teapot collection you've ever seen – which, in my book, is an automatic sign of someone worth knowing.
Given Janet's expertise in both visual storytelling and her love of literature, I thought it would be fascinating to explore that magical intersection where books meet their cinematic counterparts. Today, Janet is sharing her favorite books alongside their movie adaptations – because sometimes the best stories deserve to be told in more than one medium.
So pour yourself a cup of tea (Janet would approve), settle in, and let's dive into the wonderful world where pages come to life on screen...
We are now celebrating 3 upgraded memberships for May! As a community we have now donated 15 books to women who need them.💝
Your support means the world to me! For every membership upgraded to $5, I donate a historical fiction or romance book to a local women's shelter. I would love to see if we can get to 5 books donated for the month of May. If you have enjoyed reading The Literary Assistant and would like to support our mission of giving books to those in need, consider upgrading today. Because somewhere right now, a woman is waiting to discover the book that will change everything for her – and together, we can make sure those books find their way to the people who need them most.
Welcome Janet Raye Stevens!
I love history.
There’s nothing more fun than learning about an era not my own and experiencing the wonder and daily life of a particular moment in time. So it should come as no surprise most of my favorite books are set in the past, whether written at the time by an author deftly capturing life through their personal lens or an author steeping themselves in the past and bringing to life a vivid world long gone.
Some of those books have also been made into movies (or miniseries). I could talk about them all but that would take months, so in the interest of time, let’s take a look at “4 I Adore” and how the books and movies compare.
Persuasion (1817). Hands down my favorite Jane Austen book, and one of my favorites of all time. While Pride & Prejudice gets all the press and sparked a never-ending debate over the best film Darcy (I’m team Firth!), Elizabeth and Darcy are superstars, like a celebrity couple you watch from afar, on tenterhooks as they navigate their messy, messy road to a happy ending.
In Persuasion, Anne Elliott and her Captain Wentworth are more approachable, two regular people who’ve been persuaded by meddling relatives to suppress their inner passion and turn away from their heart’s desire. Complicated and complex characters whose conflict Austen has written so skillfully she’s got us readers frantically turning the pages to get to their happily-ever-after.
There’ve been a few Persuasion adaptations, but my #1 is the BBC’s 1995 production. Every interaction of the luminous Amanda Root as Anne and the strong and steady Ciaran Hinds as Wentworth crackles with suppressed desire and yearning looks so hot that, gee whiz, won’t you both just tell your interfering relatives and friends to MYOB and just smooch already?
Persuasion, Book & Film: 5 stars
Check out this special edition of Persuasion. It includes the full text of Persuasion, plus gorgeous, removable replicas of the characters' letters and other paper ephemera. It is one of my favorite books on my shelf.
Cold Comfort Farm. How do I love thee, book and film version of Cold Comfort Farm? I can’t even count the ways, because there’s far too many. A parody of the genre of melodramatic portrayals of British rural life popular between the world wars, Stella Gibbons’ 1932 novel offers up a hilarious and vividly rendered comic romp as orphaned socialite Flora Poste comes to stay with eccentric relatives in the countryside and sets about tidying things up for them. Terrifically loopy scenes and clever dialogue.
The film version (1995) captures the book’s whimsy flawlessly, featuring Kate Beckinsale’s prim and tidy performance as Flora Poste, a stunningly sexy Rufus Sewell, and Aunt Ada Doom seeing something nasty in the woodshed. My advice? Pour yourself a cuppa English tea, sit back, read the book, see the movie, or vice versa—you’ll thank me later.
Cold Comfort Farm, Book & Film: 5 stars
Check out the book HERE.
Catch-22. Of all the historical eras, the World War II era interests me most. And though my preference is for 1940s set suspense, mysteries, and romance, my favorite WWII book is none of the above.
A classic you may have read in high school, Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, released in 1961, is an examination of the absurdity of war and the terror faced by those who fight, portrayed through Army Air Force bombardier Yossarian’s efforts to escape the battle, only to be tripped up by the absurd “Catch-22.” Brutal in parts, hilarious in others, always compelling and, at its heart, a message repeated throughout history but we never seem to learn—war is hell.
The 2019 miniseries explores the book’s darker themes more fully, but I have a soft spot for the 1970 movie version. It jettisons the book’s out-of-sequence storylines for a more streamlined narrative and features Alan Arkin skillfully capturing Yossarian’s frustration and fear, a blustery performance by Orson Welles, and the great Bob Newhart as the bumbling Major Major (middle name Major), who rises from laundry room grunt to the rank of Major, thanks to his father’s unfortunate sense of humor when it came to baby names.
Catch-22, Book: 5 stars / Miniseries: 5 stars / 1970 Movie: 4 stars
Check out this special anniversary issue HERE.
Shining Through. Written by Susan Isaacs, it came out in 1988 and I’ve read it a dozen times since. This meticulously researched WWII-set historical fiction with mystery, suspense, and romantic elements, centers on working class NYC secretary Linda Voss, and is told in three distinct parts: Linda getting involved with US intelligence in the early days of the war, her determination to become a secret agent when everyone is telling her no, and her life in Germany as a spy. What more could you ask for? Well, how about a love triangle? Which isn’t the main plot, but it sure does up the stakes.
Book Linda is snarky and strong and fully capable of taking care of business, even if her heart is wounded in the process. Not so much for movie Linda. Played by a woefully miscast Melanie Griffith, the character is tentative, unsure, and utterly devoid of the feistiness that makes book Linda so compelling.
I blame that on the screenwriter who took the book’s strong woman struggling to prove herself and obliterated it. Gone is the intense training Linda underwent to learn spy craft and prepare her for the dangers of her mission. I get it, for pacing purposes, get to the action behind enemy lines. But instead of a voiceover saying “I endured months of grueling training” we get Melanie saying, “they sent me to Germany, with no training at all.” Linda volunteered for the mission. She worked hard to prepare. And the movie stripped her of that agency, portraying her as a girl off on a lark. The book deserved better.
Shining Through, Book: 5 stars / Movie: 1 star (mostly for the gorgeous costumes) / Miniseries if one is ever made: all the stars
Check out the e-book right now for only $1.99.
And that’s 4 I adore. Do you have a favorite book-to-movie? I’d love to hear about it!
Janet, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful picks with us! I now have a delightful list of new movies to add to my ever-growing watch list – and you know how much I love discovering films through the eyes of someone who truly understands the craft.
Now it's my turn to gush about Janet's incredible books, and trust me, you're in for a treat! You simply must start with the Beryl Blue: Time Cop series. Picture this: Sully, a swoony WWII soldier who will make your heart skip a beat, and Beryl, a kick-ass librarian who travels through time. Yes, you read that right – a time-traveling librarian!
Her mission: Save the soldier, save the future. Even if she loses her heart.
It's 2015 and librarian Beryl Blue shelves books in her hometown library. Dull, but after being orphaned and years in foster care, she prefers the mild life.
Until a time cop from the future crash lands in her library with an offer Beryl isn't allowed to refuse—she must stop a rogue time traveler from killing a WWII soldier on leave and changing history forever. If she can't complete the mission, not only is the future screwed, but Beryl's own life will be in jeopardy.
Beryl has questions, lots of questions. Beginning with why she's the only person in all of time who can stop the assassin. She gets no answers as she's quickly whisked to 1943 and stranded there, tasked with keeping Sgt. Tom "Sully" Sullivan safe at all costs.
She soon learns two things: Sully's more than capable of taking care of himself and it's her heart that's in danger. The more time she spends with the sexy, stubborn sergeant, the more she comes to care for him. Beryl's lost everyone she's ever loved and there's no way she's going to open herself to loss again. Best to complete the mission, return to her own time, and never see Sully again. If she can get the job done.
With an assassin on their heels and all of history on her shoulders, Beryl scrambles to figure out how to protect a man who refuses to be protected—and keep her heart intact.
If you love time travel, a sparkling historical romance, tough guys and wisecracking dames, plus a dash of mystery, then this first book in the Beryl Blue, Time Cop adventures through time is for you!
If you love historical fiction with a touch of paranormal and suspense, A Moment After Dark is an absolute must-read. Janet has crafted something truly special that combines all the elements we book lovers crave.
Check it out HERE.
She sees the future with a touch, a powerful gift in a time of war. The enemy wants her. The Allies need her.
Addie Brandt is cursed. When she touches someone, or an object that belongs to them, she sees their future, and it’s rarely good. Mocked and teased her whole life, Addie hides from the world in her family’s funeral home. But when her second sight shows her a horrific vision of an attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval base, the gruesome images are too intense to ignore, and she tries to raise the alarm. Will anyone listen?
Federal agent Jack Dunstan needs a miracle. He’s still reeling from the betrayal that nearly decimated his team of agents with paranormal powers, a vengeful Nazi spy with a terrifying ability of his own is out to destroy him, and he knows it’s only a matter of time before America is drawn into the war raging around the world. Hearing rumors of Addie’s vision, he seeks her out, hoping she could be the miracle he’s looking for.
Addie’s not sure she trusts Jack Dunstan. He’s rude, cocky, and insists on calling her curse of second sight a “gift.” But if she wants to save lives and prevent a terrible disaster, she must put aside her fears and doubts and learn to embrace her ability.
With the country on the brink of war and an enemy agent hunting her for her power, Addie must learn to trust Dunstan—and herself—to stop an attack that could change the course of history forever.
Check it out HERE.
Janet has a plethora of other books, so make sure you pop on over to her website to see all the book available.
Now I'm curious about you, dear readers – what's your favorite time period to have your historical fiction set in? Are you drawn to the glamour of the Roaring Twenties, the drama of WWII, or perhaps the romance of Regency England?
And did you find any books or movies in Janet's list that you're planning to check out?
There's nothing quite like that moment when you discover your next great read or the perfect movie for a cozy evening.
Happy reading!
Melissa
What I’m drinking this week ☕🫖…
Paris. My go-to tea! A fruity black tea with vanilla and caramel flavors and a hint of lemony bergamot.
What I’m reading 📖…
One mysterious mansion. Two rival journalists. Three weeks to uncover the story―and love―of a lifetime.
Check it out HERE.
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I've just read A Handmaid's Tale and am now two episodes into season two of the Elisabeth Moss show. I'm enjoying the show way more than I did the book. Blasphemy? Perhaps!
I remember writing in some recent comment on POV my then very young son's word's that will stick with me forever : 'A book is like a movie you watch in your head.' Because so much van be left to the imagination to fill in. Yet when you are writing historical fiction, you really want to get the details right. And in any story where there's going to be a fight, especially in an enclosed space.
I have not read A Handmaid's Tale, and I believe I got through the first two seasons, but in general did not enjoy them, as I found them very slow, and I wonder if the book is faster-paced.
But there are two more up my alley that I gotta ask about! You could probably see it coming (from me), but, The Shining?
And, please bear with me, but comics and graphic novels count too, right? So what about The Walking Dead universe? I never read the graphic novels, but learned from the aftershow Talking Dead that some plotlines were followed almost so to the letter that certain scenes had the actors and set reproduce full-page spreads from the books, and yet other plotlines are either altered or discarded, and there are entire storylines original to the shows. One really basic and surprising one is that one of the show's most beloved characters, Daryl Dixon, portrayed by Norman Reedus, was invented for the show, and does not exist in the books.