I thought I knew everything about Jane Austen - but BBC series Miss Austen taught me so much more
Warning: Contains Miss Austen spoilers
Miss Austen provides a captivating glimpse into the life of the renowned author. As a devoted Jane Austen enthusiast since my teenage years, I believed I had an extensive understanding of the celebrated writer.
However, after viewing BBC and PBS Masterpiece's Miss Austen, I've discovered there's much more to her than initially thought.
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The four-part series, adapted from Gill Hornby's 2020 novel Miss Austen, is embellished with creative liberties but remains grounded in facts. Specifically, it focuses on how her sister Cassandra Austen (portrayed by Keeley Hawes) burned letters written by Jane posthumously.
Cassandra was appointed as the executor of Jane's literary estate, and while the reasons behind her decision to destroy Jane's vast correspondence remain unknown, Miss Austen attempts to provide viewers with possible explanations for this historical act of destruction, reports the Express.
Furthermore, the drama sheds light on her family dynamics - notably, Jane had only one sister and seven brothers.
This fact was particularly surprising when contrasted with Pride and Prejudice's protagonist Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters, whose rich and complex relationships were so vividly depicted.
Interestingly, Jane Austen wasn't the only one in her family with a flair for writing; her brother James Austen was a poet and the first in the family to be published.
Due to societal norms of the Regency Era, Jane initially had to publish anonymously as women were primarily seen as wives and mothers.
Like many authors, Jane drew inspiration from her own life, and it's evident that her close relationship with her sister Cassandra influenced the bond between Lizzy and Jane in Pride and Prejudice.
Despite crafting happy endings for all her heroines, Jane herself didn't experience such a fate. Miss Austen suggests that Jane's true love was her literary pursuits, leaving little room for anything else.
The book provides an intimate insight into not only Jane but also her lesser-known sister, about whom very little is known.
Miss Austen, in all its glory, is a captivating series with a bit more edge than Jane Austen's typically genteel countryside narratives. However, the drama does contain touching nods to Austen's novels and some delightful Easter eggs for Janeites: from an overly dramatic, hypochondriac wife to a pompous clergyman, to spurned proposals, enduring loves and cunning matchmaking.
Andrea Gibb's script beautifully weaves together past and present, while the casting of Synnøve Karlsen as a young Cassandra Austen is absolutely perfect - actress Hawes and the rising star previously portrayed mother and daughter in The Midwich Cuckoos. Miss Austen encapsulates the wit, heart and romance of a Jane Austen novel and is set to become an instant classic.
Catch Miss Austen on BBC One tonight at 9.05pm or binge-watch it as a boxset on BBC iPlayer now.
