Keeley Hawes, Rose Leslie on ‘Miss Austen’ and Exploring Sisterhood and “Love in All Its Forms”
The drama series Miss Austen, which explores why Jane Austen letters were burned after her death by her sister Cassandra, is ready for its debut on the BBC this coming Sunday, and it features some big British names. The cast of the show, launching in the year marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, includes Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, Line of Duty, It’s a Sin) as Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra or Cassy, Synn?ve Karlsen (Last Night in Soho, Clique) as young Cassy, Patsy Ferran (Living, Hot Milk) as young Jane, Liv Hill (The Serpent Queen, Elizabeth Is Missing) as young Mary Austen, Madeleine Walker as young Eliza Fowle, Jessica Hynes (Life After Life, Years and Years) as Mary Austen, Rose Leslie as Isabella Fowle (The Good Fight, Downton Abbey, Death on the Nile, Vigil), Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey, Shetland) as Mrs. Austen, Max Irons (Condor, The Wife) as Henry Hobday and Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder, Foundation) as Doctor Lidderdale.
Other members of the ensemble include Mirren Mack (The Witcher: Blood Origin, The Nest), Kevin McNally (The Crown, Ten Percent) and Calam Lynch (Bridgerton, Sweetpea).
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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,” according to a synopsis.
Adapted from Gill Hornby’s best-selling novel of the same name by Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth Is Missing, Mayflies, directed by BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Aisling Walsh (Maudie, Elizabeth Is Missing) and produced by Stella Merz (Gentleman Jack, Renegade Nell), the show is produced by Bonnie Productions for Masterpiece, in association with the BBC. The executive producers are Christine Langan for Bonnie Productions, Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece and Polly Williams for Federation Stories. Hawes, Gibb and Walsh are also executive producers. Federation Studios is distributing the series internationally.
Ahead of the four-part show’s U.K. premiere Sunday, Feb. 2, on BBC One (it will air in the U.S. on Masterpiece on PBS from Sunday, May 4), the cast and creators recently sat down with reporters in London to discuss the series.
Lauding “this incredible group of women,” Hawes shared that, “I was interested in doing something about love really. And this is a story about love in in all its forms…. It’s about sisterly love, romantic love, unrequited love. And at this time in the world, I think this is something that we can all sit and really give ourselves over to and enjoy.” When the project “came into my inbox, I read it, and I just felt I had totally lucked out,” she concluded.
Karlsen recalled that she “didn’t know much about Jane Austen’s life. I was just aware of her work.” And she had a similar reaction to Hawes when she got the opportunity to join the show. “It was just such a beautiful insight into, obviously an imagined story, but insight into that relationship and that sisterhood. And playing, finding that relationship with a sister is such a rare and beautiful thing to get to uncover.”
How does the drama approach the sisters’ relationship when growing up? “Cassy sees the brilliance in her sister and respects it,” Karlsen explained. “And there’s a real generosity between the two of them. There’s not this sort of rivalry. Well, there’s a bit of tension at points.”
The series also looks at the relationship between Cassandra and Isabella (Leslie), the niece of her long-dead fiancé, who is about to lose her home following her father’s death. After all, at the start of the show, Cassandra goes to visit Isabella who is full of grief.
“There is a dawning realization for Isabella, particularly as the episodes continue, that Cassandra can be a glorious source of comfort for her,” explained Leslie. “The idea that she can bond with another lady in this way, whereby she is understood and her feelings are accommodated and listened to, is a new revelation for Isabella.”
Early on, Isabella is “very much consumed and in her own head, not only with grief but also with fear whereby she has no idea where she’s going to go, the type of life she’s going to lead,” the actress continued. “But certainly when it comes to Cassandra, the stoicism that she exudes is such an inspiration for Isabella. And certainly there is awe and respect coming from Isabella when she just observes Cassandra and the way that she is very comfortable in her own skin — an independent, single woman who has made her life work for her.”
Concluded Leslie: “She’s incredibly sad when her father dies, but there’s a sense of freedom. And she might be scared, but there’s a feeling that she can now pursue the life and the love, possibly, that she’s always craved…. So yes, there’s another avenue for her to pursue thanks to Cassandra being so clear-headed and forthright in the life that she’s chosen to lead.”
Meanwhile, Mary plays a different role in the series. “Mary serves, in a way, to demonstrate what it’s like to be outside of sisterhood and therefore…demonstrates how brilliant it is to be in it,” Hynes said about her character. “Her relationship with Cassandra is complex…. The things she says and does, and how she does it, is really subtle.”
What does her character help illuminate? “Our kindness in moments of real sorrow really matters when people remember it. They remember when people are kind, but they remember when people are cruel as well,” Hynes explained. “And I think that part of Mary would probably hate that she was like that. But I think that there is also a part of her that felt shut out” of the sisterhood between other characters.
And Hynes took on the challenge of exploring the darker side of Mary with enthusiasm. “I did enjoy getting a chance to play somebody who’s comically mean,” she shared. “She’s kind of mean, but I really loved the chance to really think about what’s really beneath it all.”
Langan explained the appeal of looking at an Austen that people are much less familiar with. “Cassandra is just the perfect Austen protagonist. She’s a minor character given major action and status and examination,” she said. “And I think women relate to that.”
What does it mean to bring the show to screens in this Austen anniversary year? “The 250th anniversary is the icing on the cake,” but the project has been in the works for a while, she shared. “It’s a lovely bit of serendipity.”
The stars also recalled the great sisterhood behind the scenes while shooting Miss Austen. “More and more these days, we’re all on our phones,” Hawes said. “And actually, this was a job where we all sat around running our mouths and having a natter and actually getting to know each other. We were all there in our costumes, with our cover coats over, freezing away, actually talking to each other, which was a real highlight.”
Karlsen echoed that, sharing that the ensemble really “built a connection” on set. “Someone brought us a Jane Austen puzzle. And Phyllis brought in this sort of art folder, so we had the puzzle in the middle on a bed somewhere in one of the rooms we weren’t shooting in. And then Patsy, Kevin, Phyllis and I were doing the puzzle, and then occasionally, Aisling would come in for about five minutes and just start doing it was just sweet…. It felt of the era — you sit inside and do a puzzle.”
The castmembers also recalled one secret to success on set — Hawes’ heated socks. “It was a cold house, and when we were shooting outside, we just wrapped up. We had our thermals,” Leslie said before turning to Hawes. “You had some amazing electric socks that I was very jealous of — heated divine socks. You were like: ‘Guys, you need to get in on this.'”
One scene showing the Austens on a family holiday on the coast was particularly challenging. “We were shooting for summer, but it was in January,” Karlsen recalled. “That was a tough day, but it looks sunny. Surprise! I’ve seen it, and it looks like it was warm and a lovely day. Luckily, Keeley bought me some lovely electric socks, sort of passing the baton from Cassandra to Cassy, and they came in very handy.”
Watch the trailer for Miss Austen here.
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