GIVE me period drama, historical fiction or anything that isn’t set in the modern day and I will be glued to it.
I’ve got my sights set on the latest BBC drama to take on a different historical era, with Miss Austen about to become the highlight of my Sunday nights but it’s got a lot to live up to.
The new Miss Austen drama, which begins tonight (Sunday 2 February), has already been hailed as feeling like ‘a new Jane Austen story’.
We’ve had Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility as well as Emma done numerous times, from Hollywood versions to ITV and BBC both taking their turns.
So the promise of a new period drama is exciting, but it needs to bring a lot to the table – especially with a Jane Austen link.
The new series is based on the book by Gill Hornby and focuses on the mystery of why Cassandra Austen notoriously burned her famous sister Jane’s letters, and it’s something that nobody has ever truly worked out why.
I already have high hopes for the drama as it brings in two storylines, one of a younger Jane and her sister Cassandra as they try out love and navigate society but also because it tries to give us an answer to why Cassandra did burn her sister’s letters.
With an exemplary cast, the storyline promises family mystery combined with romance and restrained passion.
If Mr Darcy is your ultimate romance hero, then this sounds like it could be the perfect fix with the younger storyline bringing in heartbreak and young love, as well as sisterly love that is promising to have us feeling emotional by the end.
For those unfamiliar with the story, the drama begins in 1830, many years after Jane has died where we get to see Cassandra (Keeley Hawes) visiting Isabella (Rose Leslie), the niece of her long-dead fiancé.
Isabella faces potential ruin as she is about to lose her home following her father’s death.
Whilst we see Cassandra is there to help Isabella, it’s clear she has a different motive and she wants to find a hidden bundle of letters that could impact the memory of Jane.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”First look at Line of Duty and Game of Thrones stars as they transform for new BBC drama Miss Austen” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6352461077112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]With flashbacks to Cassandra and Jane’s childhood, played by a young Cassy (Synnøve Karlsen) and Jane (Patsy Ferran) it’s giving us a period drama with romantic infatuations, family feuds and dashed hopes.
If you’ve ever been a fan of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice or Sandition (based on Austen’s last unfinished novel) then Miss Austen looks set to deliver more of the lingering looks, duty tangled up with love and hopeless romantic scenes we’ve come to expect from the drama.
The series is directed by BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Aisling Walsh (Maudie, Elizabeth is Missing) and produced by Stella Merz (Gentleman Jack, Renegade Nell) so it has clear form for producing masterpieces set in a different era.
With everything set to make Miss Austen a stand out piece of television drama, I’m keeping everything crossed that it’s a hit and not a flop when it airs on screen.
Miss Austen airs on BBC One and on BBC iPlayer from Sunday 2 February.