'Miss Austen's Trailer Seeks to Protect Jane's Legacy

Even if Jane Austen's untimely passing hadn't happened, it's highly doubtful she would have lived to see 2025; this year marks the late author's 250th birthday, and as befitting one of the two best selling female authors of all time in the U.K., celebrations are underway. The Jane Austen House, for example, has a full calendar's worth of events to mark "Jane Austen 250." The BBC has commissioned an adaptation of The Other Bennett Sister, which is expected by the end of the year, and multiple documentaries are in the works. Over here in the U.S., Masterpiece has been readying an adaptation of its own, Miss Austen, based on the novel of the same name by Gil Hornby, which is slated to debut in May 2025.

Hornby's novel could, by rights, be considered a form of fan fiction. Like her best-selling compatriot, Agatha Christie, Austen's life contained some puzzling elements, whose mystery was exacerbated by some of the actions taken by her siblings in the event of her passing, namely Cassandra Austen, her older sister, who for reasons still unknown to this day, was moved to burn dozens and dozens of letters written by the famous author, letters that would have been a key window into who Jane Austen was as a person.

Scholars have debated why Cassandra took such a drastic action for decades; however, Hornby's fictional flight of fancy as to why she did is firmly rooted in the foundational love story found in all of Austen's novels. No one will love and protect you like a sister can, even if that well-meaning protection sometimes can suffocate those around you.

Here is the four-part series' synopsis:

Miss Austen 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 drama begins in 1830, a while after Jane has died. Cassandra races to see her young friend Isabella who is about to lose her home following her father’s death. Cassandra is ostensibly there to help her friend, but her real motive is to find a stash of private letters which, in the wrong hands, 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 and Jane as they navigate the 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 realise how blind she has been to the real cause of Isabella’s heartache and distress. Finding a way to guide Isabella towards true happiness, Cassandra is finally able to understand and celebrate the sacrifices she chose to make for her brilliant sister, Jane.

Keeley Hawes stars as Cassandra Austen with Synnøve Karlsen (Passenger) playing her younger self, Cassy; Jessica Hynes (Years & Years) as Mary Austen and Liv Hill (The Serpent Queen) as young Mary; Patsy Ferran (Firebrand) as Jane, Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) as their mother, Mrs. Cassandra Austen and Logan's real life husband, Kevin McNally (The Crown) as Mr. Austen. 

The series also stars Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones) as Isabella Fowler, Max Irons (The White Queen) as Henry Hobday, Mirren Mack (The Doll Factory) as Dinah, Alfred Enoch (The Couple Next Door) as Mr. Lidderdale, and Calam Lynch (Archie) as Tom Fowle.

Andrea Gibb (Mayflies) adapted and wrote the four-part series, which is directed by Aisling Walsh (Elizabeth is Missing) and produced by Stella Merz (Gentleman Jack). Gibb, Walsh, and Hawes are credited as executive producers, along with Christine Langan for Bonnie Productions, Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece, and Polly Williams for Federation Stories. 

Miss Austen will premiere on most local PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET. All four episodes will be available on PBS Passport on premiere day for members as a binge. As always, check your local listings.