The 'Miss Austen' Trailer Promises a Heartfelt Story of Sisterhood
Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen in 'Miss Austen'
(C) Robert Viglasky/Masterpiece
Though Jane Austen's classic novels are primarily remembered for giving us beloved literary romances like Lizzie Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy or Eleanor Dashwood and Edward Ferrars, her stories also contain love stories of a different variety: The unshakeable bond between sisters. This is the relationship at the heart of the forthcoming Masterpiece drama Miss Austen, which tells a story of the author's relationship with her sister Cassandra and the literary mystery that still surrounds the eldest Austen sibling today.
Based on the novel by Gil Hornby, the limited series offers a dramatized imagining of what caused Cassandra Austen to burn an extensive collection of her sister's personal letters after her death. The generally accepted wisdom among many scholars and Austenites is that Cassandra acted to protect her sister's reputation by preventing potentially private or embarrassing personal details from becoming public knowledge. What those details were is a question that's now lost to time, but Miss Austen aims to make a go at answering it.
Told across dual timelines that bridge the past and present, Miss Austen follows the story of an older Cassandra (Keeley Hawes) on a visit to Isabella Fowle (Rose Leslie), the niece of her long-dead fiance, to reclaim the letters she believes to be in her possession. As she is forced to reckon with her sister's legacy and her own past, flashbacks tell the story of Jane and Cassandra's youth, full of the romantic entanglements, heartbreak, and family drama that would help make Jane's stories so famous.
Here's the series' synopsis.
In Miss Austen, the drama begins in 1830, many years after Jane has died. Cassandra rushes to visit Isabella, 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 and Jane 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.
Patsy Ferran, Madeleine Walker, Synnøve Karlsen, and Liv Hill in "Miss Austen"
(Photo: Masterpiece)
Alongside Hawes and Leslie, the series stars Synnøve Karlsen (Passenger) as the young Cassy, Patsy Ferran (Firebrand) as the young Jane, Max Irons (The White Queen) as Henry Hobday, Alfred Enoch (The Couple Next Door) as Mr. Lidderdale, Calam Lynch (Archie) as Tom Fowle, Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) as Mrs. Cassandra Austen, and Liv Hill (The Serpent Queen). The ensemble cast also includes Mirren Mack (The Doll Factory), Kevin McNally (The Crown), and Jessica Hynes (Years and Years).
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.
