News for Austen Enthusiasts: May 2025

New BBC Jane Austen docuseries garners praise 

As part of their still-unfolding slate of programming celebrating Jane Austen's 250th, the BBC has started airing a new three-part series about the life of Jane Austen entitled Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius. The series, narrated by Juliet Stevenson, covers the main beats of Jane Austen's life and writing journey, punctuated by talking heads from some of her most famous fans, including Colm Toibin, Kate Atkinson, and Greg Wise. The series has been well received by critics, including Lucy Mangan, who gave it five stars.

Read more at the Guardian >>

New Yorker writer defends Northanger Abbey 

In her new introduction to Northanger Abbey, published in the New Yorker, writer Adelle Waldman mounts an empassioned defence of what she calls Jane Austen's 'Least Beloved' novel. In the article, Waldman holds Northanger up against Austen's more popular novels, like Emma and Pride and Prejudice, arguing the subtle ways in which Catherine Morland holds her own against these literary titans. 

Read more at the New Yorker >>

Jane Austen statue at Winchester Cathedral to be unveiled 

It feels like an age ago that we started following reports of a new Jane Austen statue in the works at Winchester Cathedral. Who would have thought a statue could whip up such controversy? Eventually, the yeas beat the nays, and now the statue is on track to be unveiled in October. 

Read more at the Hampshire Chronicle >> 

Mary Bennet to get her day in the sun in The Other Bennet Girl 

Poor, dreary Mary! The most overlooked Bennet sister rarely gets the time of day, but now she's to get her own show. The BBC are adapting Janice Hadlow's The Other Bennet Girl for the small screen, and news of the production is starting to trickle in. Ella Bruccoleri is to take on the role of Mary - you might have seen her in such British staples as Call The Midwife and Bridgerton, as well as in the new Paddington movie. We await further updates, but we're expecting this one to hit our TVs in 2026. 

Read more at Red >>

Jane Tranter rejects posh accents in Austen's England

Producer of the above show, Jane Tranter, is pushing back against the dominance of 'posh' accents in Regency era television. It's no secret that 'posh' English, or 'received pronunciation', is the norm in period dramas, but how did people really sound? Tranter, speaking at Hay Festival, has remarked on actors' reflex to slip into 'posh' accents as soon as they're put into a corset or top hat. She wants to get past all of that and encourage actors to relax more into their natural, regional accents. 

Read more at the Guardian >>

Jane Austen exhibit unveiled at Winchester Cathedral

Esteemed locals and descendants of the Lefroy family gathered together at Winchester Cathedral for a new exhibit on Jane Austen's life and relationship with her friend Anne Lefroy. The centrepiece of the exhibit is a poem written by Austen commemorating the life of her friend. The exhibit will run until 19th October and admission is included with a Cathedral annual pass. 

Read more at the Hampshire Chronicle >>

Jane Austen exhibit opens in Bath 

The exhibitions continue in what is shaping up to be a fine summer for Austen fans with the good fortune to live in Jane Austen's England. The title of a new exhibition opening in Bath this summer will be titled 'The Most Tiresome Place in the World: Jane Austen & Bath.' The show, which will take place at No 1 Royal Crescent, Bath, looks at Jane Austen's fraught relationship with Bath, where she lived between 1801 and 1806. The exhibition will open on 5th July and will be open to the public until 2nd November. 

Read more at VisitWest >>

Emma Thompson to host fancy Jane Austen event 

Actress Emma Thompson has been one of Jane Austen's most vocal cheerleaders since writing and starring in 1995's Sense and Sensibility.  Fans of this adaptation will be thrilled to hear that Thompson is hosting a special screening of Sense and Sensibility for fans at Heckfield Place, a restored Georgian family home that now serves as a hotel. The evening will not only feature the screening, but also a Q&A with the actor and readings of her diary entries from the set. I'd be nabbing my tickets for that one quickly, if I were you. 

Read more at the Hampshire Chronicle >>