In the world of classical fiction, author Jane Austen's legacy continues to be felt today.

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Not only did the novelist pen the likes of Pride & Prejudice, Emma and Mansfield Park, but her works have formed the basis of inspiration for countless adaptations on the small and big screen.

This time round, BBC's Miss Austen is set to reimagine the literary mystery of just why Jane's sister Cassandra burned her letters after Jane's death in 1817.

While some Austen fans are divided around Cassandra's decision to burn Jane's letters, Miss Austen actress Keeley Hawes says that it was an "incredibly noble" thing for her sister to do.

Patsy Ferran as Jane Austen, Madeleine Walker as Eliza Fowle, Synnøve Karlsen as Cassy Austen, and Liv Hill as Young Mary in Miss Austen
Patsy Ferran as Jane Austen, Madeleine Walker as Eliza Fowle, Synnøve Karlsen as Cassy Austen, and Liv Hill as Young Mary in Miss Austen. Robert Viglasky

Speaking at a screening for the series, Hawes said: "I don't know. I can't speak for [Cassandra] but my own opinion on that is that she did an incredibly noble thing – rightly or wrongly.

"I know lots of Austen fans feel that it was an act of cultural vandalism, but I think she had great foresight. She couldn't possibly have known about the world that we live in now where everybody wants to know everyone's innermost thoughts at every second of the day. How they feel about their relatives, friends and people they work with.

"She couldn't possibly have known and to do this – to make it about the work – and to look after her legacy in the way that that she did, I think it's the greatest act of love and it's very moving, isn’t it? It truly is. it's a brave thing that she did.”

Hawes stars as Cassandra in the new four-part drama, while Synnøve Karlsen stars as a younger version of the Austen sister, joined by Patsy Ferran as Jane herself.

The series is based on the Gill Hornby novel of the same name, which seeks to dig into the reasons surrounding Cassandra's choice to burn Jane's letters and highlight their deep, sisterly bond.

Directed by Aisling Walsh, Walsh also shares a similar sentiment to that of Hawes, saying that Cassandra's burning of the letters was done out of "love".

Also speaking at the screening of the series, Walsh said: "I thought about it in the beginning – I didn't know about the letters at all actually, when I joined the project. I went down to the Jane Austen Museum and spoke to the people there.

"But I kind of thought about it in my own world, I have two sisters and over the years, I still write letters to people, strange as it may seem.

"You kind of think the contents of those letters that you send to somebody that is your closest ally, your closest friend, the person that you can really exist without.

"Of course, she did it because within those letters, there contains a lot of the life that they've lived together, when they were young women."

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Walsh added: "People don't need to know that kind of privacy and that kind of intimacy that they had together as two sisters. What they need to know is how genius Jane was as a writer and how actually, maybe a lot of that would not have happened without the support and love of her sister.

"So, for me, of course, it is a total loyalty. Actually, it's not trying to rewrite history for a moment. It is out of loyalty and allowing people who read the novels to see that Jane. That's the Jane that's important, what happened between them is actually something that is between them.”

The cast for the new period drama also includes Rose Leslie (Vigil), Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey), Max Irons (Condor), Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton) and Liv Hill (The Serpent Queen), as well as Jessica Hynes (Life After Life), Mirren Mack (The Witcher) and Kevin McNally (The Crown).

Miss Austen will air on BBC One and iPlayer from Sunday 2nd February 2025.

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Authors

Morgan Cormack
Morgan CormackDrama Writer

Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.

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