Six classic adaptations of Jane Austen's timeless tales!
Pride and Prejudice:
The arrival of the wealthy Mr Darcy in the neighbourhood causes great excitement within the Bennet family. One of her five daughters, Mrs Bennet feels, is sure to capture the heart of the wealthy young aristocrat. That fatate befalls the spirited Elizabeth. Judging him on first impressions and the malicious gossip of friends, she rejects his advances. However, as she busies herself with the stormy romances and scandal of her sisters, she once again finds herself in his company. Gradually her opinions of this proud young man begin to change…
Director: Simon Langton
Actors: Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, David Bamber, Crispin Bonham-Carter
Sense and Sensibility:
Devoted sisters Elinor and Marianne are forced by tragic circumstances to set about the delicate task of finding suitable husbands. Marianne, with her passionate hunger for emotional experience, falls for the handsome, dashing but heartless John Willoughby. The outwardly collected Elinor is in love with Edward Ferrars, who is himself entangled with the sly and avaricious Lucy Steele. Amidst disappointments and distress, will they ever happen to find true love?
Director: Rodney Bennett
Actors: Irene Richard, Tracey Childs
Mansfield Park:
When Sir Thomas Bertram takes in the 9-year-old daughter of an impoverished relative, his wife has someone to bully. Never allowed to forget her good fortune, Fanny's good nature and fortitude finally win her a valued place in the household and the man of her dreams. Anna Massey heads the cast of Jane Austen's witty Regency romance.
Director: David Giles
Actors: Bernard Hepton, Anna Massey, Angela Pleasence, Samantha Bond
Northanger Abbey:
A taste for melodrama from reading too many Gothic novels is almost Catherine Morland's downfall when she falls in love with Henry Tilney. Invited to stay at Northanger Abbey, she finds evidence of a sinister family secret. This is a disturbingly surreal interpretation of the Jane Austen novel.
Director: Giles Foster
Actors: Peter Firth, Googie Withers, Robert Hardy, Katherine Schlesinger
Emma:
Jane Austen's classic novel about Emma Woodhouse - cupid to everyone's romances except her own. This BBC production, set in the small town of Highbury depicts the often hilarious attempts of Miss Emma Woodhouse to make proper marital matches for all of her friends. Though often mistaken in her judgement, she is counseled and criticised by her neighbor and brother-in-law, the wise Mr. Knightley whose attentions to her are motivated by more than brotherly love.
Director: John Glenister
Actors: Doran Goodwin, John Carson
Persuasion:
It's never too late for true love, particularly for Anne Elliot, who, facing spinsterhood, still pines for her first love. Frederick Wentworth, who was shunned by her family years ago for being unworthy. As fate would have it, Frederick's fortunes have turned; he is now a Captain of the Sea, while those of Anne's family have seemingly reversed. Inevitably these two lovers meet again - but can their aborted love be rekindled?
Director: Roger Michell
Actors: Amanda Root, Ciaran Hinds