Steinbeck’s 74-year-old novel ‘East of Eden’ sees 200% boost in sales after screen adaptation: Which books saw similar rise?

John Steinbeck’s 74-year-old classic novel ‘East of Eden’ has returned to the top of book charts as a number one bestseller, according to Variety. The renewed interest comes after the release of a new limited series adaption of the same name starring Florence Pugh.

Publisher Penguin Classics is reportedly seeing a 200% increase in sales since the limited series directed by Zoe Kazan was announced by Netflix. The novel is also dominating Amazon’s Best Sellers list. It is also featured on the company’s ‘Best of BookTok’ audiobook list.

The classic gained instant popularity when it was first released and was also awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962, with Steinbeck believing it to be his magnum opus. Readers and viewers of the new series are now turning to the original source material behind the seven-episode series.

Book-to-screen adaptations

Booksellers often see a boost in the sales of books which get adapted to the screen in the form of either films or series. The phenomenon is driven by social media fandoms and streaming services themselves advertising the source material.

According to the Publishers Association, 12% of adult fiction purchases made by occasional readers were discovered or chosen because of their screen adaptations during 2024 to 2025.

Online e-book and audiobook retailer Kobo also reported a major rise in sales of books that have recently been adapted for the screen.

Book adaptations also boost the box office revenue. From 2020-2024, book adaptations had 57% higher revenue than non-adaptations out of the top 50 grossing films during the period. Screen adaptations of books grossed 44% more at the UK box office and 53% more worldwide than the original screenplay, Forbes reported.

Additionally, 48% of UK and US drama series on Disney+, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video were adapted from books from January 2024 and June 2025.

Books that saw rise in sales after screen adaptations

Several books have seen a rise in sales similar to John Steinbeck's East of Eden after being adapted to the screen.

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Sales of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights rose by 469% from the previous year after a screen adaptation directed by Emerald Fennell was announced. The book sold 10,670 copies in January 2026, compared to 1,875 copies in January 2025. The sales further increased by 132% after the first trailer of the film, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, was released, according to Penguin Classics’ data.

• His & Hers by Alice Feeney

Alice Feeny’s 2020 psychological thriller ‘His & Hers’ rose to number 15 on Amazon’s bestseller list after the release of a limited series. The series of the same name starring Tessa Thompson released on Netflix in January 2026. The release also prompted a 494% increase in the Spotify listens for the audiobook.

• Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

The screen adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry, starring Connor Storrie and Hudson William, gained a lot of popularity on social media. The adaptation propelled the sales for the Game Changers book series, including Heated Rivalry, according to its publisher HarperCollins. The boost in sales also helped the publisher reach a quarterly revenue record.

• People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Emily Henry’s book ‘People We Meet on Vacation’saw a similar bump in sales after its Netflix adaptation was released. The book rose onto the New York Times bestseller list and saw a 97% increase in sales across formats in the two weeks after the film was released. Spotify also recorded a 515% rise in global listens following the release.

• Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Julia Quinn’s Brigerton series saw a significant 552% increase in sales. The rise was seen between the week before the trailer for the series’ Season 3 was released and the week after the season premiered on Netflix.

Similar increases have been seen in Harlan Coben’s ‘Fool Me Once’, with the book selling 20,000 copies in the US after the screen adaptation was released. A rise was also seen in the sales for ‘An Offer From a Gentleman’ by Julia Quinn, Jennifer Iacopelli’s ‘Finding Her Edge’ and Shelby Van Pelt’s 2022 novel ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’.