The life of Jane Austen – and the celebrated books she wrote – has been pored over hundreds of times, by millions of fans and scholars. And she needs no introduction: this is the mind that brought us Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Emma.
But fewer people know about her sister, Cassandra. That’s all about to change thanks to the BBC’s new series, Miss Austen. It’s set to explore the life and times of the Austen sisters – neither of whom married and who were, by all accounts, extraordinarily close.
It’s also jam-packed with big names. Here’s who’s in it.
Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen
Cassandra Austen is Jane’s sister. Like Jane, Cassandra never married, and after her death, she’s seen travelling to the home of her ex-fiance’s niece in search of letters that Jane once sent. Her aim is to destroy them - but why?
Keeley Hawes in an English actor. Born in Paddington, she’s gone onto appear in both UK–based TV series and Hollywood blockbusters. Her breakthrough came in 1998 and 2002, with appearances in Our Mutual Fame and Tipping the Velvet; she then starred as Zoe Reynolds in the BBC spy series Spooks, before going onto appear in Ashes to Ashes.
More recently, she’s appeared in Russell T Davies’ Channel 4 drama It’s A Sin, played DI Lindsay Denton in Jed Mercurio’s TV series Line of Duty, and appeared in 2018 drama The Bodyguard as the Home Secretary. She’s been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, and indeed won one for her role in Line of Duty.
Jessica Hynes as Mary Austen, née Lloyd
Mary Austen is the sister of Isabella Fowle’s mother, Eliza – who was in turn a close friend of Jane and Cassandra. Petulant and anxious, she eventually married their brother, James Austen, thereby becoming their sister in law. And she also harbours a worrying desire to write a biography and James and Janes’ lives as writers.
Hynes, who plays her, is a British actor, director and writer. She helped create and star in the British sitcom Spaced, but has also appeared on stage (her 2002 theatre debut, in which she played Bolla in Jez Butterworth’s play The Night Heron, won her an Olivier nomination) and in film. She’s appeared in the Edgar Wright film Shaun of the Dead, in Bridget Jones’ Diary: The Edge of Reason and Doctor Who, opposite David Tennant. More recently, she paired up with Tennant to play parents of a disabled daughter, Rosie, in There She Goes.
Patsy Ferran as Jane Austen
Jane Austen is, of course, the world-famous author. She never married, but over the course of her life wrote and published books that are still read and loved today. When we meet her, we meet a younger Jane, whose adventures and life with Cassandra set the stage for her famous romance novels.
Patsy Ferran is an English-Spanish actor. Born in Valencia in 1989, she moved to the UK at a young age and has gone onto build a substantial career in theatre - including in the 2014 production of Treasure Island, for which she was nominated for an Evening Standard Theatre Award, and 2019’s Summer and Smoke, for which she won an Olivier.
Synnøve Karlsen as young Cassandra Austen
The younger Cassandra - who we meet through Jane’s letters - is, like Jane, just starting out in the world. The pair’s heads are full of love and marriage, though through a series of unfortunate circumstances, neither ever would.
Karlsen, who plays Cassandra during the show’s flashback sequences, is a Norwegian-Scottish actor. After training at LAMDA, she left early to take the leading role BBC Three thriller show Clique. She’s also appeared in Edgar Wright’s 2021 horror film Last Night in Soho.
Liv Hill as young Mary Austen
The young Mary Austen: sister of Eliza, and looking for a husband.
Hill, who plays her, is a Welsh actor who originally comes from Haverfordwest. Born in 2000, she’s already racked up an impressive list of credits, including in BBC miniseries Three Girls, 2019’s Elizabeth Is Missing and the Hulu series The Great. She also played a young Catherine de’ Medici in The Serpent Queen.
Rose Leslie as Isabella Fowle
Isabella is the daughter of Cassandra’s long-time friend Eliza, and is about to lose her home following her father’s death. Cassandra is called into help her - though as we know, she has ulterior motives for visiting.
Rose Leslie is a Scottish actor who is best known for her work in Game of Thrones - she played Ygritte. Born in 1987, she was raised at Lickleyhead Castle in Aberdeenshire: her father, Sebastian, is Chieftain of the Aberdeenshire branch of the Scottish clan Leslie.
After training at LAMDA, her first major role was as Gwen Dawson in the ITV series Downton Abbey; more recently, she played Maia Rindell in The Good Fight and appeared as Clare in the HBO series The Time Traveler’s Wife, opposite Theo James.
Alfred Enoch as Mr Lidderdale
Mr Lidderdale is the doctor present at the death at Isabella’s father – and it seems that he and Isabella might have unfinished business.
Enoch, who plays him, is a British Brazilian actor. Born in 1988 in London, his father is actor William Russell. He’s best known for playing Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter series, and for playing Wes Gibbins in the legal thriller series How To Get Away With Murder.
Calam Lynch as Tom Fowle
Tom was Cassandra’s love interest, when they were young. Lynch, who plays him, is a British actor. He’s appeared in the Disney adaptation of Black Beauty, the BBC One drama Mrs Wilson and the second season of the Netflix hit Bridgerton, in which he played Theo Sharpe. Most recently, he made an appearance in the Ella Purnell horror-comedy series Sweetpea, playing her love interest AJ.
Mirren Mack as Dinah
The servant of Isabella. Mack, who plays her, is a Scottish actor. Born in 1997 in Stirling, she’s best known for her roles in Sex Education (where she played Florence), Netflix series The Witcher: Blood Origin, and the BBC drama The Nest, where she played Kaya.
Kevin McNally as George Austen
George Austen is the father of Cassandra and Jane. The family weren’t well-off: they were in fact the poor relatives of the wealthier Austens, and relied on their families’ charity for the roof over their heads.
McNally is an English actor. Born in Bristol, he trained at RADA and got his start by appeared alongside Derek Jacobi in the BBC series I, Claudius in 1976. However, he’s best known for playing the pirate Joshamee Gibbs in the mega-franchise Pirates of the Caribbean.
Max Irons as Henry Hobday
A mysterious love interest that Jane and Cassandra meet on a holiday. Maximillian Paul Diarmiud Irons, who plays him, is the son of actor Jeremy. Born in Camden in 1985, he’s appeared in films like the 2011 Little Red Riding Hood, BBC series The White Queen and the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s book The Host.
Miss Austen is streaming on BBC One from February 2
