Adapt this: A Gentleman in Moscow

Last Updated on March 31, 2024

Set during the Soviet Union’s turbulent early 1920s, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles tells the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin.

Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and now must live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is a novel that should be adapted into a period drama. Here’s why. 

UPDATE: It happened! “A Gentleman in Moscow” (2024) is now AVAILABLE to STREAM

The 8-episode limited series stars Ewan McGregor in the role of Count Alexander Rostov and premiered on March 29, 2024. Read on for our thoughts on why the story is suited to the screen, and watch the trailer at the end of the page. 

About A Gentleman in Moscow

Who – The Author: With his New York Times bestselling novel Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late 1930s Manhattan to life with splendid atmosphere and a flawless command of style. Readers and critics were enchanted; as NPR commented, “Towles writes with grace and verve about the mores and manners of a society on the cusp of radical change.”

Mr. Towles’ second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, which was published in 2016, was on the New York Times bestseller list for over twenty weeks in hardcover and was named one of the best books of 2016 by the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. 

What: A Gentleman in Moscow is a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel. Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose. 

Though none of the novel’s central characters are based on historical figures, A Gentleman in Moscow has been called “ A masterly encapsulation of modern Russian history.” (Kirkus Review) 

When: A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin.

Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. 

Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery. The story takes place over more than three decades, spanning the Interwar, Second World War and Post-war eras. 

Where: The Metropol is a real hotel which was built in the center of Moscow in 1905. Despite being around the corner from the Kremlin and a few blocks from the head quarters of the secret police, the hotel was a genuine oasis of liberty and luxury during the Soviet era. Because the Metropol was one of the few fine hotels in Moscow at the time, almost anyone famous who visited the city either drank at, dined at, or slept at the Metropol. As a result, we have an array of firsthand accounts of life in the hotel from prominent Americans including John Steinbeck, e. e. cummings, and Lillian Hellman.  

Why: If adapted into a period movie – or better yet television mini-series – the setting would be stunning: the Metropol is not only still standing but is also still operating as a luxury hotel. A Gentleman in Moscow is rich with atmosphere and imagery pulled from Towles’ “longstanding fascination with Russian literature, culture, and history” and is perfectly suited to film.

It would be historically informed: “but no Bolshevik, Stalinist or bureaucrat can dampen the Metropol’s life; World War II only briefly forces a pause. A great hotel is eternal, and the ­tidal movement of individuals and ideas into its lounges and ballrooms is a necessity for one longtime resident. He’s not difficult to spot: a man who enacts a set of rituals and routines, grooming and dining, conversing and brandy-drinking, before ascending each night to his room on the sixth floor, which has barely enough space for his Louis XVI desk and ebony elephant lamps.” (New York Times)

Its narrative would be utterly watchable: “Episodic, empathetic, and entertaining,” (Publisher’s Weekly) A Gentleman in Moscow uses an “accordion” model to mark the passing of time, and Time itself becomes a compelling character. From the moment the Count passes through the hotel’s revolving doors, the narrative begins opening steadily outward. Over the next two hundred pages detailed descriptions accumulate of people, rooms, objects, memories, and minor events, many of which seem almost incidental. But then, as the book shifts into its second half, the narrative begins to narrow and all of the disparate elements from the first half converge. Bit characters, passing remarks, incidental objects come swirling together and play essential roles in bringing the narrative to its sharply pointed conclusion.

It would have a powerful soundtrack: five classical pieces by Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Mozart and Rachmaninov are referenced in A Gentleman in Moscow.

It could happen: Amor Towles’ Rules of Civility has already been optioned by Lionsgate to be made into a feature film. Like A Gentleman in Moscow it takes place in the first half of the 20th Century. Set in New York City in 1938, a 25-year old named Katey Kontent attempts to rise above the Wall Street secretarial pool into the upper echelons of New York society at the end of the Depression. As much as anything, her challenge is to not lose herself in the romance in Gotham’s high society.

Once an author has one film optioned or adapted from his novel, there’s a likelihood that another will follow. 

“A Gentleman in Moscow” (2024) is now AVAILABLE to STREAM
Rated TV-14
Starring Ewan McGregor, Beau Gadsdon, Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

You can buy A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel here. Also available as an audiobook. Watch the trailer below.

Adapt This is a series on Willow and Thatch where we suggest literary film adaptations. If you have a favorite book that you think should be made into a period drama, contact us and we might feature it. 

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to also see the article about PBS Masterpiece’s first feature film and the Best Period Dramas: Interwar Era List.

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