Bridget Jones creator Helen Fielding says that the voice of Jane Austen is “so strong and funny and perceptive” that authors have continued to copy and steal it for their own work. She is among famous faces including Green Wing star Tamsin Greig who are taking part in a BBC documentary about Jane Austen as the British novelist’s 250th birthday is marked this year.
The three-part series, Jane Austen: Rise Of A Genius, explores how her novels Pride And Prejudice, Sense And Sensibility and Emma broke barriers and influenced society at the time, as well as writing today. Fielding said: “Jane Austen’s voice is so strong and funny and perceptive. And her work’s still being copied and stolen by people like me.”.
In a clip, released by the BBC, she expressed that she thinks Austen would have thought “it’s going to be alright”, when she meets someone she “falls for” as the documentary is set to touch on the novelist’s love interests. The British author took elements of Austen’s novel Pride And Prejudice including the name of the love interest, Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, for use in her Bridget Jones’s Diary book – which features a character called Mark Darcy.
Colin Firth, who played Mr Darcy in the BBC’s popular 1995 adaptation Pride And Prejudice, went on to play Fielding’s Mark Darcy. The BBC Arts series also has contributions from authors Candice Carty-Williams, Kate Atkinson, Colm Toibin and Bee Rowlatt, along with actors who have played Austen characters, and experts.
Sense And Sensibility TV star Charity Wakefield, Emma and Miss Austen Regrets actress Greta Scacchi, The Watsons theatre director Samuel West, Emma TV actress Tamsin Greig, Love And Friendship film star Tom Bennett and Sense And Sensibility film actor Greg Wise also contribute alongside filmmaker Ken Loach.
Shortly after Austen died at the age of 41 in 1817, her sister Cassandra Austen burnt some of her letters – meaning there are gaps in her personal story. A recent BBC drama Miss Austen, starring Keeley Hawes as Cassandra, dramatised why her sister may have taken these steps.
Austen was born on December 16 1775, and in her short life also wrote Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, Persuasion and the unfinished works The Watsons and Sanditon which along with her other novels have been adapted into numerous films and TV shows.
Other films including cult teen comedy Clueless, horror Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, and Hilary Duff-fronted Material Girls, have been inspired by Austen novels. Alistair Pegg, commissioning editor at BBC Arts, said: “Jane Austen is timeless, but the 250th anniversary of her birth this year is the perfect moment to reflect on her extraordinary achievement.
“In Jane Austen: Rise Of A Genius, we unpack the surprising story of how she defied the odds in 18th century England, rising from humble beginnings to become one of our most important and best-loved writers.”. The series, which is a 72 Films production, comes as the BBC confirms that the corporation will show adaptations of her novels as part of a season in June, and a new drama The Other Bennet Sister based on the novel by Janice Hadlow- which focusses on the prudish sister Mary Bennet from Pride And Prejudice – will be airing.
Rob Coldstream, executive producer, 72 Films, said: “Austen’s life is often conflated with the lives of her heroines – this series knocks that myth on its head and brings the messy reality of her life into focus. “Packed full of ambition, tragedy, hardship, and humour – we’re thrilled to showcase to audiences, the real Jane Austen.”.
