You’ve seen the bonnets. You’ve seen the rolling English hills. But honestly, the cast of Miss Austen brings something to the screen that most Jane Austen adaptations usually miss: the grit of what happens after the "happily ever after" fades away.
This isn't another retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Instead, it's a look at the woman who protected the legacy—and burned the evidence. Based on Gill Hornby’s 2020 novel, this BBC and PBS Masterpiece production focuses on Cassandra Austen, Jane’s older sister. It’s a story about the letters we keep and the secrets we destroy to protect the people we love.
The Heavy Hitters Leading the Way
Keeley Hawes. If you’ve watched anything on British TV in the last decade, you know she’s basically royalty. She stars as the older Cassandra Austen. She's miles away from her high-stress roles in Line of Duty or Bodyguard here. In this series, which premiered in early 2025, she plays a woman looking back at her life with a mix of regret and fierce determination.
Hawes actually served as an executive producer on the project, too. She’s gone on record saying she wanted to do something about love in all its forms—not just the romantic kind, but the messy, unbreakable bond between sisters.
Then there’s Rose Leslie. Most of us still associate her with the "You know nothing, Jon Snow" era of Game of Thrones, but in the cast of Miss Austen, she plays Isabella Fowle. Isabella is the niece of Cassandra’s long-dead fiancé. Her father has died, she’s about to lose her home, and she’s the catalyst that sends Cassandra on her mission to find Jane’s hidden letters.
👉 See also: The Entire History of You: What Most People Get Wrong About the Grain
Bringing a Literary Icon to Life
Who do you cast as Jane Austen? It’s a terrifying job. You’re playing one of the most famous writers in history.
Patsy Ferran took the leap. You might recognize her from the 2022 series Life After Life or her massive stage career (she famously stepped into A Streetcar Named Desire with only four days' notice and won a Critics' Circle award for it). She doesn't play Jane as a porcelain doll. Her Jane is vibrant, intellectual, and—kinda importantly—a bit judgmental. She’s the observer, the sister who sees everything and writes it down.
Because the show jumps around in time, we also get a "Young Cassy." Synnøve Karlsen takes on this role. If you watched Last Night in Soho or The Midwich Cuckoos, her face will be familiar. She captures that bubbly version of Cassandra before the losses started piling up.
Watching the chemistry between Karlsen and Ferran is wild. They really nail that sisterly vibe where you can communicate an entire insult with just a look across a dinner table.
✨ Don't miss: Shamea Morton and the Real Housewives of Atlanta: What Really Happened to Her Peach
The Supporting Players You’ll Recognize
The depth of the cast of Miss Austen is pretty staggering. It’s like a "who’s who" of British character actors.
- Phyllis Logan: Best known as Mrs. Hughes from Downton Abbey, she plays Mrs. Austen (the mother).
- Kevin McNally: You know him as Mr. Gibbs from Pirates of the Caribbean, but here he’s the Austen patriarch, George.
- Alfred Enoch: The Harry Potter and How to Get Away with Murder alum plays Mr. Lidderdale, a local doctor with a complicated history with Isabella.
- Jessica Hynes: She plays Mary Austen, the sister-in-law. Hynes is a comedy legend in the UK (Spaced), but she brings a lot of heart to this role.
- Max Irons: Playing Henry Hobday, a fictional suitor for Cassandra. Every period drama needs a bit of "what if" romance, right?
Why This Specific Cast Works
A lot of period dramas feel like actors playing dress-up. This one feels lived-in. Keeley Hawes mentioned in interviews that the cast actually bonded "the old-fashioned way" on set—meaning they stayed off their phones and just talked. That chemistry shows up on screen.
The plot kicks off in 1830, years after Jane’s death. Cassandra is trying to protect Jane’s reputation. Back then, "reputation" was everything. If the letters were too spicy or too critical of the neighbors, it could ruin the family's standing.
The drama isn't just about the mystery of the letters, though. It’s about how these women navigated a world that didn't give them much room to move.
🔗 Read more: Who is Really in the Enola Holmes 2 Cast? A Look at the Faces Behind the Mystery
What’s Next for the Series?
If you finished the four-part miniseries and wanted more, there's good news. In mid-2025, reports surfaced that a sequel, Miss Austen Returns, was already in pre-production.
It’s set to adapt Gill Hornby’s follow-up novel, The Elopement. Keeley Hawes is expected to return, and much of the key cast will likely follow. It seems we aren't done with the Austen family secrets just yet.
To get the most out of the show, it's worth reading Gill Hornby’s original novel first. It provides a lot of the internal monologue for Cassandra that's hard to capture on screen, even with an actor as good as Hawes. You can also visit the Jane Austen House website to see the real-life locations that inspired the story.
Watching the series back-to-back with a classic adaptation like the 1995 Pride and Prejudice (which, fun fact, stars Keeley Hawes' husband Matthew Macfadyen in the 2005 movie version) gives you a really cool perspective on the woman behind the books.
Check your local listings on BBC iPlayer or PBS Passport to catch up on the episodes if you missed the initial run. It's one of those rare shows that actually lives up to the hype.