Single-minded author Austen

Apr 27 2008 by Ian Robson, Sunday Sun

THE drama Miss Austen Regrets tells the story of the novelist Jane Austen’s final years.

It sheds light on why the romantic writer died a spinster . . . never having married or met her own Mr Darcy.

The story — based on Austen’s own writings — is written by Gwyneth Hughes of North Yorkshire, whose previous credits include the award-winning Five Days.

She said: “Jane Austen did receive a proposal of marriage from a wealthy young neighbour.

“And she accepted. She actually said yes to him until, after a long night of discussion with her sister Cassandra, she changed her mind. This intriguing decision inspired the story of Miss Austen Regrets.” And producer Anne Pivcevic explained: “Jane Austen’s novels are glorious wish-fulfillment fantasies.

“Each girl gets the man she deserves, but Austen’s life, like most real lives, was far more complex and troublesome.

“Gwyneth has created a glitteringly, multi-faceted Jane.

“She is witty and sad, kind and cruel, a woman who feels regret but, at the same time, is happy with her choices . . . a woman who, despite her 19th-century context, feels utterly contemporary.”

V MISS AUSTEN REGRETS, BBC1, Today, 8pm.