Stevens‘ boarding school mysteries set for big screen

Robin Stevens’ children’s detective series Murder Most Unladylike has been optioned for television and film by independent production company Pilot Media.

Pilot Media optioned the rights from Emily Hayward Whitlock, head of book to film at The Artists’ Partnership, who was acting on behalf of Stevens’ literary agent, Gemma Cooper at The Bent Agency.

Cooper said she was “thrilled” to be working with Pilot Media and Salt Beef TV; the latter will co-produce any adaptation with Pilot. “With a diverse cast, opulent settings and a gloriously nostalgic feel, I always thought this series was perfect for adaptation,” she said.

The Murder Most Unladylike series, published by Penguin Random House, is set in a 1930s boarding school and features schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong. The first three books in the series—Murder Most Unladylike, Arsenic for Tea and First Class Murder— have combined UK volume sales of 53,343 copies, for a value of £300,663, according to Nielsen BookScan data.