A new 72 Films (a Fremantle company) documentary, Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius, celebrates the surprising life of the author whose groundbreaking novels have been loved for over two centuries.
Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius is the story of how a self-taught young woman from a small Hampshire village became one of the greatest novelists who ever lived.
The three-part series explores how the author of masterpieces including Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma, ripped up the rulebook and reinvented the novel, allowing her readers into the minds of characters as never before.
But getting into Austen’s own mind isn’t easy. During her lifetime, she wrote thousands of letters to her sister Cassandra. After Jane’s death, Cassandra burnt almost all of them. Now, this major new series draws on the surviving letters, alongside the insights of experts, contemporary novelists, and actors who have portrayed Austen’s characters, to bring Austen back to life.
Each episode weaves in cinematic vignettes with contributions from authors and writers including Helen Fielding, Candice Carty-Williams, Kate Atkinson, Colm Tóibín and Bee Rowlatt; actors Charity Wakefield, Greta Scacchi, Samuel West, Tamsin Greig, Tom Bennett and Greg Wise, experts and historians Dr Paula Byrne, Admiral Lord West, Dr Priya Atwal, Dr Louise Curran and Dr Paddy Bullard, and filmaker Ken Loach.
Jane Austen died at the age of 41. But her work leaves a lasting legacy that is read, enjoyed, adapted and cherished to this day.
Helen Fielding, Author, said: “Jane Austen’s voice is so strong and funny and perceptive. And her work’s still being copied and stolen by people like me.”
Alistair Pegg, Commissioning Editor, BBC Arts, said: “Jane Austen is timeless, but the 250th anniversary of her birth this year is the perfect moment to reflect on her extraordinary achievements. In Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius, we unpack the surprising story of how she defied the odds in eighteenth-century England, rising from humble beginnings to become one of our most important and best-loved writers.”
Rob Coldstream, Executive Producer, 72 Films, said: “72 Films are hugely proud to present this exciting journey into the life and works of one of Britain’s best loved novelists. Austen’s life is often conflated with the lives of her heroines – this series knocks that myth on its head and brings the messy reality of her life into focus. Packed full of ambition, tragedy, hardship, and humour - we’re thrilled to showcase to audiences, the real Jane Austen.
Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius is a 72 Films production for BBC Arts and is distributed internationally by Fremantle.
