Austen's Power ; After 200 Years, Jane Austen Is More Popular Than Ever. As the First of Four Dramatisations of Her Novels Hits Our Tv Screens, David Thomas Provides a Cheat's Guide for Those of Us Who Never Got Around to Reading the Books

Daily Mail › March 11, 2007

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Summary

Billie Piper looks every inch a Jane Austen heroine in her long brown dress. Behind her is the magnificent Newby Hall, set amid 25 acres of beautifully manicured Yorkshire land. It is the perfect freeze-frame for ITV1's production of one of Austen's classic novels, Mansfield Park, with Piper leading an impressive cast as the naive Fanny Price. Piper hadn't read Austen before, but has since become a fan. 'I was always quite scared by the classics,' she says, 'because you associate them with school and exams. It was really nice to read Austen's books and finally understand their appeal.'

Director Iain B MacDonald urged Piper to portray Fanny in a modern way. 'It's tempting, when you do period dramas, just to be stiff and starchy, but people of the time weren't really like that,' says Piper. 'They might have stood straighter, but they were still human.

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Austen's Power ; After 200 Years, Jane Austen Is More Popular Than Ever. As the First of Four Dramatisations of Her Novels Hits Our Tv Screens, David Thomas Provides a Cheat's Guide for Those of Us Who Never Got Around to Reading the Books

They complained about their lot, they gossiped and fell in and out of love.' As the cameras roll, Michelle Ryan sweeps out of the house as new bride Maria, in a striking ivory bustier dress with matching top coat and a feather hat. She is destined to bring shame on her family by running off with her lover. Ryan, who ...

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