In exciting literary news, this spring PBS Masterpiece will bring Gill Hornby’s bestselling 2020 novel, Miss Austen, to the screen. The four part show will begin airing on May 4th, 2025, a year which marks 250 years since Jane Austen’s birth.
Miss Austen follows Cassandra Austen, the dear sister of Jane. Cassandra infamously burned most of her letters from her sister many years after Jane had died. This series seeks to fill in the blank of why Cassandra would do this and what the letters could have contained.
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Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen
In the show, Cassandra, now an older woman, travels to visit her dead fiance’s niece, Isabella. Isabella is about to lose her house, where many letters from Jane are stored. Cassandra makes the journey to get a hold of the letters and keep the embarrassing personal information contained within them from getting out.
The series takes place in two timelines. Cassandra’s mission to get and destroy the letters is intertwined with flashbacks to the joyous adolescence she shared with her sister that would inspire much of Jane’s writing. This story is one of sisterhood, heartbreak, and growing up.
Gill Hornby brought Cassandra Austen out of her sister’s shadow and into the spotlight when she thoughtfully crafted her into a compelling character in her novel. Now, Cassandra will be under the literal spotlight, played by Keeley Hawes, alongside a supporting cast of Rose Leslie, Synnøve Karlsen, Patsy Ferran, Max Irons, Alfred Enoch, Calam Lynch, Phyllis Logan, and more.
Get excited for May 4th by watching the trailer and reading the original novel:
Miss Austen
“You can’t help feeling that Jane would have approved.” —The Guardian
Featured still from “Miss Austen” via BBC; Additional photo: BBC
