MISS AUSTEN: FIRST LOOK IMAGES FROM NEW BBC DRAMA STARRING KEELEY HAWES

The BBC has released new pictures for Miss Austen, a star-studded production of Gill Hornby’s best-selling novel of the same name, produced by Bonnie Productions for MASTERPIECE, in association with the BBC. 

Miss Austen is adapted by BAFTA-winning writer Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth is Missing, Mayflies) and takes a literary mystery – Cassandra Austen notoriously burning her famous sister Jane’s letters – and reimagines it as a fascinating, witty and heart-breaking story of sisterly love, while creating in Cassandra a character as captivating as any Austen heroine.

The new pictures show Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, Line of Duty, It’s A Sin) as Cassandra Austen and Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones, Vigil) as Isabella Fowle. Synnøve Karlsen (Last Night in Soho, Clique), Patsy Ferran (Living, Hot Milk), Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey, Shetland).

Plus Max Irons (Condor, The Wife), Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder, Foundation), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton, Sweetpea) and Liv Hill (The Serpent Queen, Elizabeth Is Missing) are also seen in their roles for the first time.

Jessica Hynes (Life After Life, Years and Years), Mirren Mack (The Witcher: Blood Origin, The Nest) and Kevin McNally (The Crown, Ten Percent) also star across the series.

The drama begins in 1830, many years after Jane has died. Cassandra (Keeley Hawes) rushes to visit Isabella (Rose Leslie), the niece of her long-dead fiancé, who is about to lose her home following her father’s death. Cassandra is ostensibly there to help Isabella, but her real motive is to find a hidden bundle of private letters which, in the wrong hands, she fears could destroy Jane’s reputation.

On discovering them, Cassandra is overwhelmed as she is transported back to her youth. In flashback, we meet Young Cassy (Synnøve Karlsen) and Jane (Patsy Ferran) as they navigate the romantic infatuations, family feuds and dashed hopes which shaped their lives, and laid the foundations for Jane’s unforgettable stories.

Cassandra’s re-evaluation of her past eventually leads her to find a way to guide Isabella towards the path of true happiness. The series is directed by BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Aisling Walsh (Maudie, Elizabeth is Missing) and produced by Stella Merz (Gentleman Jack, Renegade Nell).

The four-part drama wrapped production earlier this year and will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2025, marking 250 years since Jane Austen’s birth.