The Age Of Innocence Among Netflix's Next Book Adaptations

Timed to World Book Day (which apparently is today!), Netflix has not only renewed its adaptation of Sherryl Woods' Sweet Magnolias novels, it has announced two new projects — The Age of Innocence, and Unaccustomed Earth — that are based on books.

Hailing from showrunner.writer Emma Frost (The White Queen, Shameless) and adapted from Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of forbidden love in 19th century New York, the Age of Innocence
limited series is described as "a passionate and heart-rending will-they/won't-they love triangle exploring themes of freedom, duty, identity and love in all its forms."

Frost's "fresh take" is said to be true to Wharton's novel, but "will speak to a new generation as we traverse the ballrooms and bedrooms of these young people, asking the question, 'What is love? And what is lust? And should we ultimately be driven by our heads or by our hearts?'"

A 1993 film adaptation directed by Martin Scorsese starred Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder, and got Strauss' "Radetzky March" stuck in our heads.

Netflix's Unaccustomed Earth, meanwhile, is based on Jhumpa Lahiri's award-winning collection of short stories and comes to us from John Wells (The Pitt, Shameless), writer Madhuri Shekar (3 Body Problem, The Nevers) and Nisha Ganatra, who will direct the first episode.

Described as "an epic, soapy, and culturally vibrant drama about a tight-knit Indian American community navigating love, desire, and belonging," Unaccustomed Earth "invites you into the elite and insular Indian-American community of Cambridge, Mass. When a star-crossed romance between a devoted wife and her long-lost love comes to light, a scandalous affair is born and new battle lines are drawn in this intensely inter-connected immigrant community."

Which of Netflix's upcoming adaptations sound like page turners to you?