Miss Austen's Keeley Hawes: "We're getting a new Jane Austen story in itself"

Speaking about what drew her to the show, Hawes told the BBC in a press pack for Miss Austen: "I was sent the first episode of Miss Austen knowing nothing at all about this story, and instantly I found it absolutely fascinating and charming.

"I think people will love it, because for anyone who is not aware of this backstory, it’s almost like we are getting a new Jane Austen story in itself, and what a lovely surprise that is.

"I also couldn’t read the script or the book without crying – it's incredibly emotional and very relatable.

"This is a story about relationships and families and what people mean to each other, and how we experience love, loss and life."

Also starring in the series as a younger version of Cassandra, Cassy, Synnøve Karlsen shared her thoughts on why she thinks Miss Austen will draw viewers in.

She said: "I think lots of Jane’s stories are probably influenced from real-life events or encounters she had, and some could have been influenced by Cassandra and Jane growing up together as young women.

"I think what will draw viewers in is that we go behind the scenes and explore what or whom could have been the real influences behind Jane’s novels, and I think this telling of her and Cassy’s lives is just as powerful of any of Jane’s work.

"There’s something special about getting a glimpse into the life of Jane as a writer and who she really was."

Patsy Ferran stars as Jane, who we see a lot of in Cassy's younger years as the pair navigate adulthood together and all the highs and lows that come with it.

When asked about what she thinks viewers will fall in love with when it comes to the story at the heart of Miss Austen, the actress revealed: "Well, what I love about Miss Austen is that it’s a love story between two sisters, and the series beautifully encapsulates the complexity of sisterhood.

"Cassandra and Jane aren’t just sisters, these two women are best friends, soulmates and the loves of their lives."

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Ferran continued: "There are love interests for them, but at the end of the day it’s each other that they adore and rely on.

"They're two women who by their own choice decide not to marry, and there's an amazing line in Gill’s novel that says 'the blessing of spinsterhood is that one’s walls are one’s own', so they’ve created a world of independence in a sense.

"They obviously have to rely financially on the men in their lives and they embark on a life-long servitude to their siblings and parents, but they create a small world for themselves where they have a little bit of agency in their lives.

"It's an incredibly moving and gentle observation on their everyday relationships, but there’s something so extraordinary in this seemingly ordinary relationship."

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

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