Lost in Austen
A modern woman steps into Pride and Prejudice.
Lost in Austen is a four-part 2008 British television series for ITV, written by Guy Andrews as a fantasy adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. The series follows Amanda, a modern London woman who enters the novel's plot through a portal in her bathroom and disrupts events. In December 2009, The Times placed the show at number 48 in its list of 'The Top 50 TV Shows of the Noughties'.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Comedy-drama
- Fantasy
- Romance
- Writer
- Guy Andrews
- Director
- Dan Zeff
- Music
- Christian Henson
- Starring
- Jemima Rooper
- Alex Kingston
- Hugh Bonneville
- Morven Christie
- Elliot Cowan
- Gemma Arterton
- Language
- English
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Series
- 1
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Amanda Price, a Jane Austen fan from present-day Hammersmith who has just rejected a marriage proposal from her boozy boyfriend, finds Elizabeth Bennet standing in her bathroom in a nightgown. Elizabeth disappears, and Amanda dismisses it as a dream. Elizabeth later reappears dressed for travel, and Amanda steps through a secret doorway into Longbourn, the Bennet family home near the start of the novel. Elizabeth remains in 21st-century London. Mr Bennet accepts Amanda as his daughter's friend. Amanda tries to keep the novel on course, but when Mr Bingley visits Longbourn, he admires Amanda more than Jane Bennet. At the Meryton Assembly Hall, Amanda claims Mr Darcy has already asked her to dance to reject Bingley; Darcy coldly confirms the lie. As they dance, Darcy scolds her for trying to embarrass Bingley. Amanda gets drunk and kisses Bingley, immediately regretting it. Mrs Bennet warns Amanda not to interfere with her daughters' prospects. Amanda forces Jane to travel to the Bingleys' home in bad weather to restore the novel's plot, but when she learns this may give Jane a fatal influenza, she follows to try to save her.
Production
Mammoth Screen produced Lost in Austen. The first episode aired on ITV at 9 pm on 3 September 2008, drawing 4.2 million viewers; the remaining episodes aired weekly. The series premiered in America on the Ovation Channel on 11 January 2009, and in Australia on ABC in two parts beginning 8 March 2009. Amanda Price's workplace was filmed in Wakefield at the disused Yorkshire Bank building on Westgate. The Beluga Lounge on Market Street in Wakefield served as a London wine bar. Several areas inside and outside Cannon Hall at Cannon Hall Museum, near Barnsley, appear in the production, including the oak-panelled ballroom. Screen Yorkshire informed Mammoth Screen of landscapes in the Wetherby district as potential settings. Filming took place at Bramham Park, parts of York, Leeds City Markets, and Harewood House near Leeds, which stood in for Pemberley. Alex Kingston, who played Mrs Bennet, saw her character as a woman unhappy in her marriage, overcompensating for her husband's absence.
Reception
Lost in Austen received critical praise but struggled in ratings against BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are? Consolidated ratings for the first episode averaged 4,185,000 viewers with a 17.6% share; episode two averaged 3,489,000 and a 14.8% share; episode three averaged 3,256,000 and a 13.2% share. Overnight figures for the finale were 3.06 million and a 13.6% share. The show did not match the slot average of 3.8 million (16.1%) but boosted ITV's upmarket profile: 46% of its audience came from the ABC1 demographic, a 22.7% increase over the channel's yearly 37.5%. The press received the series well. A Times writer called the first episode 'a funny, clever breeze'. James Walton of The Daily Telegraph said it 'triumphantly achieves its main aim of being enormously good-natured fun.' The Guardian's reviewer wrote 'I loved it'. Hermione Eyre in The Independent on Sunday described it as 'a sweet and foamy guilty pleasure'. Nancy Banks-Smith in The Guardian called episode two 'Amazingly good for ITV. Surely some mistake here?' Janine Gibson in The Guardian wrote the show is 'flawed, but ambitious'. Tim Teeman in The Times gave the final episode five stars. Media Guardian readers voted Lost in Austen their 16th favourite TV show of 2008, the first ITV drama to make the poll.
Planned movie version
On 11 February 2009, The Guardian reported that a movie version was under development, with Sam Mendes attached as executive producer. Nora Ephron worked on the project until her death in 2012; two years later, Carrie Brownstein was asked to finish the script. The four parts were compiled into a movie for DVD release. The North American version removed a scene of Amanda Price singing 'Downtown' and a ringtone using music from the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who stars in Lost in Austen?
Lost in Austen stars Jemima Rooper, Alex Kingston, Hugh Bonneville, Morven Christie, Elliot Cowan and Gemma Arterton.
When did Lost in Austen end?
Lost in Austen last aired on 24 September 2008.
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