The magic of JK Rowling is coming back to the silver screen - but don't expect wands, broomsticks or cameos by Maggie Smith in the BBC adaptation of The Casual Vacancy.
Rowling said the she was “thrilled” that the BBC had commissioned her first adult novel to air on BBC1 in 2014.
She added: "I always felt that, if it were to be adapted, this novel was best suited to television and I think the BBC is the perfect home."
Set in the make-believe English town of Pagford, the novel opens with the death of a parish councillor and goes on to cast a harsh picture of a rotten society at war with itself.
Rowling’s Harry Potter novels were the highest-grossing movies ever when they were adapted by Warner Bros into Hollywood blockbusters, smashing box office records.
But the Casual Vacancy had a lukewarm reception from critics when it was published in September.
Although the Daily Mirror said it was “a complete joy to read”, other critics called it “dull” and “no masterpiece”, with one writing: “The magic simply isn’t there”.
Set in the make-believe English town of Pagford, the novel opens with the death of a parish councillor and goes on to cast a harsh picture of a rotten society at war with itself.
BBC drama controller Ben Stephenson went with the Daily Mirror line, saying: "It's a book of such richness that through humour, social commentary and above all fantastic characters, says something insightful and entertaining about the country we live in."
