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Stately, sly and well-mannered: BBC1’s Miss Austen reviewed

Plus: Amandaland, the Motherland spin-off, is not as bad as you might have feared

James Walton
BBC1's new drama presents the apparently surprising sight of a feisty, waspish Jane Austen: Cassandra Austen (Synnove Karlsen), Jane (Patsy Ferran) and Eliza Fowle (Madeleine Walker).  CREDIT: BBC / BONNIE PRODUCTIONS / MASTERPIECE / ROBERT VIGLASKY
EXPLORE THE ISSUE 08 February 2025
issue 08 February 2025

It is a truth universally acknowledged that lazy journalists begin every piece about Jane Austen with the words ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged’, so I’ll fight the temptation.

In any case, the Miss Austen at the centre of BBC1’s new Sunday-night drama isn’t Jane, but her beloved sister Cassandra, best known for destroying most of Jane’s letters.

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