Top 5 tear-jerking Amazon Prime series based on best-selling books – 1 is a classic

Amazon first launched in 1995 as an online bookstore. Fast-forward 30 years and some billions of pounds later, and the company is the world's largest online retailer, selling everything from food to furniture and clothing. However, they haven't strayed far from their humble beginnings as they continue to sell novels and even air books which have been adapted to movies through their streaming platform, Prime Videos.

They have one of the largest selections of films and series to stream in the United Kingdom, with over 17,400 available to watch. As well as a large library of classic shows, Prime Videos also offer originals, some of which are developed in-house by Amazon Studios. From action, comedy and thriller, there is also a great variety of emotional series which were initially released as books and became top-rated adaptations.

Throughout seven seasons, Prime Video fans were left clutching tissues after Claire Randall (played by Caitriona Balfe) accidentally travelled back to 1743 just days after the WW2.

On her quest to find her way home and to her husband Frank (Tobias Menzies), the nurse finds herself swept in a complicated twist of mystery, survival and romance.

Claire is then drawn into Scotland’s epic rebellion and must make the tough decision to stay in the past or return to her normal life in the future. Each decision promises heartbreak.

The eighth and final season, which will premiere this year, will be adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s ninth novel in the book franchise titled Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone.

Alongside themes of war, love and time travel, Outlander scored an impressive 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, as one fan said: “Outlander is different. It touches my soul. Something jaded in me was healed. Sam/Jamie and Caitriona/Claire still move to tears.”

This British period drama follows the lives and dedicated work of a group of midwives working in the East End of London during the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

The award-winning series is based on the real-life memoir of Jennifer Worth, who drew from her experience as a nurse and midwife to write a best-selling trilogy: Call the Midwife (2002), Shadows of the Workhouse (2005) and Farewell to The East End (2009).

With over 120 episodes, the show has covered tough subjects like Down syndrome, Female Genital Mutilation, and domestic violence.

Its plots are gritty and hard-hitting, with its annual Christmas specials tugging at viewers’ heartstrings like never before.

One fan admitted that they cry at “almost every episode. I can count on one hand how many times I haven’t cried. Part of getting prepared to watch: Kleenex at the ready, my iced tea and a snack.”

The Handmaid’s Tale is a tough tear-jerker that follows June Osbourne (played by Elisabeth Moss) as she has her freedom brutally snatched by a dystopian totalitarian society.

Forced to live under the theocratic state known as the Republic of Gilead, she is forced to fight for her freedom and the lives of others after struggling to survive as a reproductive surrogate, against her will.

The series has won eight primetime Emmy nominations throughout its six seasons and aired its final episode earlier this year.

The Handmaid’s Tale is adapted from Margaret Atwood’s bestselling novel of the same name, which was initially published in 1985.

Although the season finale received a mixed reaction from viewers, the series has brought many to tears as one fan penned: “Is anyone else completely destroyed by The Handmaid’s Tale, I was SOBBING big fat tears.”

This coming-of-age romance drama follows Belly (played by Lola Tung), who is caught in a love triangle with two brothers, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).

The Summer I Turned Pretty is an Amazon Prime Video original and is based on a book series of the same name written by Jenny Han.

It tells the story of Belly as she navigates the hardship of growing up feeling overlooked and discovering first love after getting noticed by Jeremiah and Conrad for the first time.

As the novel series has three books, the screen adaptation will return for its third and final season next month, on July 16.

The show was a huge hit with fans. One said it was “an emotional roller coaster and the focus on the power of being young.”

Maid follows the true-life hardships of single mum Alex (played by Margaret Qualley) who flees domestic violence and takes on a cleaning job in an effort to survive.

The heartbreaking drama recounts the struggles author Stephanie Land encountered on her way to becoming the best-selling author that she’s recognised as today.

It depicts her reliance on welfare programs, the struggles of leaving an abusive relationship, struggling to afford food and going to a homeless shelter with her young daughter.

The memoir, which was released in 2019, has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide and was even listed on former United States President Barack Obama’s summer reading list.

Scoring 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, one viewer said: “From start to finish, Maid is a gut-wrenching yet beautifully rendered story of a mother's perseverance.”