Muddy Stilettos


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<p>2025 is <em>all</em> about Jane Austen, which suits us just fine! The 250th anniversary of her birth is already off to a flying start thanks to <em><a href="https://muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/film-tv/all-about-miss-austen-new-bbc-tv-series-cassandra-jane/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Miss Austen</a></em>, Andrea Gibb&#8217;s lavish adaptation of Gill Hornby&#8217;s bestselling&nbsp;novel for the BBC, starring Keeley Hawes. And happily there&#8217;s plenty more where that came from. We&#8217;re talking not one but two <em>Pride and Prejudice </em>spin-offs: a Dolly Alderton-penned remake for Netflix, rumoured to be starring *screams* Emma Corrin; and another Hornby adaptation for the BBC, <em>The Other Bennet Sister</em>, which reimagines the life of Mary Bennet, the seemingly unremarkable and overlooked middle sister of the Bennet clan. </p>



<p>Alas, details on both are still scarce, so until we know more we are readjusting our bonnets and revisiting our favourite Austen adaptations. After much dispute at Muddy HQ, these came up trumps (don&#8217;t fight us on this!). </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pride-and-prejudice-1995"><em>Pride and Prejudice </em>(1995)</h2>



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<p>Many have tried to recreate the chemistry between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcey (notably Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen in Joe Wright&#8217;s 2005 rendition), and many have failed &#8211; sorry not sorry <em>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</em>. But it&#8217;s the 1995 BBC miniseries that is top of the <strong><em>Pride and Prejudice</em></strong> pops for us. Written by Andrew Davies, it stars Jennifer Ehle as Lizzie Bennet alongside Alison Steadman, Anna Chancellor, Julia Sawalha and Benjamin Whitrow. Not only did this BAFTA-winning series put Colin Firth well and truly on the eye candy-o-meter for his dashing Darcey, but without it, Helen Fielding never would have graced us with <em>Bridget Jones.</em> That&#8217;s right, it was this very series that inspired every Dear Diary big knicker moment so we owe it a huge debt.</p>



<p><em>You can watch Pride and Prejudice now on <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b009016x/pride-and-prejudice">BBC iPlayer</a></em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sense-and-sensibility-1995"><em>Sense and Sensibility</em> (1995)</h2>



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<p>No contest for<strong><em> Sense and Sensibility</em></strong> &#8211; Ang Lee&#8217;s BAFTA-winning adaptation starring the late great Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Greg Wise, Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson (who also wrote the screenplay) wins hands down. Thompson and Winslet&#8217;s perfectly matched portrayals of sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, whose chances of marriage are doomed by their family&#8217;s sudden loss of wealth, earned Thompson an Oscar for Best Screenplay. The only thing better than revisiting the floppy-haired Grant of the late Nineties is Thompson&#8217;s diaries of the writing and filming of the movie, which are hilarious, and well worth a read.</p>



<p><em>You can watch Sense and Sensibility now on <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/948002">Netflix</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0027nc1/sense-and-sensibility">BBC iPlayer</a></em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-emma-2020"><em>Emma</em> (2020)</h2>



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<p>Though it&#8217;s a tough call between Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsdale, Ramola Gerai and Anya Taylor-Joy&#8217;s performances of the mischievous matchmaking <strong><em>Emma</em></strong>, it&#8217;s Taylor-Joy for the win. Autumn de Wilde&#8217;s particularly star-studded adaptation saw Mia Goth, Callum Turner, Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy, Connor Swindells, Josh O&#8217;Conner, Tanya Reynolds, Gemma Whelan and Miranda Hart join the <em>Queen&#8217;s Gambit</em> star in this particularly slick remake which breathes fresh life into Austen&#8217;s much loved rom-com. But of course we could not talk about <em>Emma</em> without mentioning <em>Clueless</em> &#8211; as if! The Nineties cult hit was inspired by this Austen rom-com and though we still live for Alicia Silverstone&#8217;s wardrobe, and it kills us that Paul Rudd is aging better than us, it remains a certifiable classic to this day! </p>



<p><em>You can watch Emma now on BBC iPlayer and Prime Video</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mansfield-park-1999"><em>Mansfield Park</em> (1999)</h2>



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<p>Though we&#8217;ll always have a soft spot for Billie Piper, her 2007 Fanny Price is no match for Frances O&#8217;Conner&#8217;s which stole the show in Patricia Rozema&#8217;s boundary pushing version of Austen&#8217;s rom-com, <strong><em>Mansfield Park</em></strong>. OK, sure, it&#8217;s not faithful to the text, but as Rozema said: &#8220;This is not a Jane Austen film, but a Patricia Rozema film. My job as an artist is to provide a fresh view.” And fresh view she does, with Austen&#8217;s life weaved in, along with making feminism, gender and slavery central plot points. This boldness earned the film favourable reviews, and still does in the Muddy book. </p>



<p><em>You can watch Mansfield Park now on Prime Video</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-northanger-abbey-2007"><em>Northanger Abbey</em> (2007)</h2>



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<p>Andrew Davies strikes again! Following on from <em>Pride and Prejudice</em>, the king of the Austen adaptation turned his pen to Austen&#8217;s coming-of-age satire, <strong><em>Northanger Abbey</em></strong>. It stars a pitch perfect Felicity Jones as the Gothic novel-obsessed Catherine Morland, alongside JJ Feild as love interest Henry Tilney, Geraldine James, Liam Cunningham and, yes that is a young Carey Mulligan. It was another hit for Davies, and the Irish setting gets us every time. </p>



<p><em>You can watch Northanger Abbey now on Prime Video</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-love-amp-friendship-2016"><em>Love &amp; Friendship</em> (2016)</h2>



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<p>Based on Austen&#8217;s epistolary novel <em>Lady Susan</em>, which was published posthumously and therefore often overlooked, this starry and critically acclaimed adaptation put it firmly on the Muddy map! Kate Beckinsale is brilliant as the scheming Lady Susan, a recent widow seeking out a husband for her daughter (and herself of course). Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel, Morfydd Clark, Stephen Fry, James Fleet, Jenn Murray and Emma Greenwell also star. It&#8217;s slick, witty, packed with exquisite period detail and a must watch. </p>



<p><em>You can watch Love &amp; Friendship on Disney+ and Prime Video</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-persuasion-1995"><em>Persuasion</em> (1995)</h2>



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<p>Our hopes were <em>sooo</em> high for the 2020 adaptation of <strong><em>Persuasion </em></strong>starring Dakota Johnson but it was a certifiable flop, so we&#8217;re sticking with Roger Michell’s 1995 BAFTA award-winning banger. It stars Amanda Root as Anne Elliott, who is reunited with her love interest, Captain Frederick Wentworth (Ciaran Hinds), eight years after rejecting his marriage proposal. Cue lots of awkward exchanges, friend-zoning and jealousy before the path to true love runs smooth for the pair of star crossed lovers &#8211; our girl Austen did love a happy ending!</p>



<p><em>You can watch Persuasion now on Apple TV+ and Prime Video</em></p>



<p><strong>Dare to disagree? Comment below about your favourite Austen adaptations </strong></p>


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