Masterpiece's Miss Austen gets a premiere date and new photos

For fans of Becoming Jane or Death Comes To Pemberley, there comes a new entry in the Austen canon. Like those stories, it’s a tale reimagined long, long after Jane Austen’s death; and like Becoming Jane, specifically, it’s a tale that features the legendary author as a character. But in Miss Austen—which premieres on PBS on May 4—it’s not Jane but her sister Cassandra who is our leading lady. 

Based on the novel of the same name by Gill Hornby, Masterpiece’s Miss Austen “takes a literary mystery—Cassandra Austen notoriously burning her famous sister Jane’s letters—and reimagines it as a fascinating, witty and heart-breaking story of sisterly love, while creating in Cassandra a character as captivating as any Austen heroine.” Keeley Hawes stars as the elder Cassandra, who visits a friend in distress with the ulterior motive of obtaining some of her deceased sister’s letters with the intent of destroying them to protect Jane and her family’s reputation. However, uncovering the letters also forces Cassandra to uncover the past she shared with her sister and the inspirations behind Jane’s classic novels. 

Masterpiece has assembled an all-star cast for the series, as is their wont. In addition to Hawes (Bodyguard), Miss Austen also stars Masterpiece fan fave Rose Leslie (remember, before she was Jon Snow’s lover on Game Of Thrones, she was a member of the Downton Abbey ensemble). The cast also includes dapper gentlemen Max Irons (The Wife) and Alfred Enoch (How To Get Away With Murder), who look every bit the Austenian heroes in new photos (below). Synnøve Karlsen (Last Night in Soho) and Patsy Ferran (Living) appear as young Cassy and Jane, respectively. 

Miss Austen is produced by Bonnie Productions for Masterpiece. Jessica Hynes (Life After Life), Mirren Mack (The Witcher: Blood Origin), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton), Kevin McNally (The Crown), Liv Hill (The Serpent Queen), and Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) also star in the four-episode series, which is written by BAFTA winner Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth Is Missing) and directed by BAFTA winner Aisling Walsh (Maudie). You can check out the newly released photos for yourself below. 

Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen
(C) Robert Viglasky Photography

Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen; (C) Robert Viglasky Photography

(L-R): Rose Leslie as Isabella, Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen, Mirren Mack as Dinah and Jessica Hynes as Mary Austen; (C) Robert Viglasky Photography

Mr. Lidderdale (Alfred Enoch); Photographer: Robert Viglasky

(L-R): Cassy Austen (Synnøve Karlsen), Jane Austen (Patsy Ferran); Photographer: Robert Viglasky

Tom Fowle (Calam Lynch); Photographer: Robert Viglasky
Courtesy of Bonnie Productions and MASTERPIECE.

(L-R): Cassy Austen (Synnøve Karlsen), Mrs. Austen (Phyllis Logan), Jane Austen (Patsy Ferran); Photographer: Robert Viglasky
Courtesy of Bonnie Productions and MASTERPIECE.

Henry Hobday (Max Irons); Photographer: Robert Viglasky
Courtesy of Bonnie Productions and MASTERPIECE.

Isabella Fowle (Rose Leslie); Photographer: Robert Viglasky

Cassandra Austen (Keeley Hawes); Photographer: Robert Viglasky
Courtesy of Bonnie Productions and MASTERPIECE.