Keeley Hawes: 'Burning Jane Austen's letters was an act of deep love, not cultural vandalism'
Keeley Hawes: 'Burning Jane Austen's letters was an act of deep love, not cultural vandalism'
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Keeley Hawes signed up to play Jane Austen’s elder sister Cassandra in the BBC’s new four-part drama because she was yearning for a role about love. The actress, best known for The Durrells and Line of Duty, was fascinated by the adaptation of Gill Hornby’s new book Miss Austen, in which the audience learns about the author’s real life, as opposed to the lives of her many well-loved characters from her world famous novels.
Keeley, 48, jumped at the lead role of Cassie, having been gripped by her character’s highly controversial decision to burn her famous sister’s letters which she believes was an act of loyalty and deep affection, aimed at protecting Jane's legacy. “I had been hoping for something like this,” she says.
“I was interested in doing something about love, really, and this is a story about love in all its forms. It’s about sisterly love, romantic love, unrequited love. This is something I really wanted to give myself over to, it ticked a lot of boxes.”.
She said that history has not always been kind to Cassandra, not only for getting rid of her own letters from Jane, but also for denying fans the opportunity to read the many pages sent to one of her closest friends, Eliza de Feuillide. But Keeley says Cassandra’s action was driven by a strong desire to protect her sister, and to follow Jane’s own wishes. “My own opinion is that she did an incredibly brave thing, rightly or wrongly,” Keeley says. "I know that lots of Austen fans feel it was an act of cultural vandalism but I think she had great foresight. She couldn’t possibly have known about the world we live in now, where everyone wants to know everyone’s innermost thoughts every second of the day. To do this, and to make it about the work and to look after her legacy in the way that she did, I think it was the greatest act of love.”.
