Things Fall Apart—Achebe’s Legacy, from Book to Screen

Literature has always inspired filmic adaptations and African literature has its films too, mainly sourced from francophone novels, some of which have been examined by Techeuyap in De l’écrit à l’écran, Anyinefa, and Mestaoui, among others. Nigerian literature, on the other hand, has inspired few adaptations, with the notable exception of Achebe’s first novel, published in 1958 and which has, over the years, inspired several adaptations—films and plays. This article will compare Achebe’s first novel with its main screen counterpart and will seek to highlight the reasons for the huge success of this televised program, revealing some of the ingredients behind the success of Nollywood films and helping to get a better understanding of their content and message.