Miss Austen on PBS: Release Date, First-look Photos, Cast, Plot Details, a Sneak Peek, and a New Trailer.
MASTERPIECE on PBS announced the release date and dropped eight new first-look photos for the new period drama miniseries Miss Austen. The released photos feature Keeley Hawes as Miss Cassandra Austen, Patsy Ferran as Jane Austen, Phyllis Logan as Mrs. Austen, Rose Leslie as Isabella, and more.
If you’re unaware of this new British period drama airing soon, it’s time to get excited! Miss Austen may be one of the most anticipated new period dramas in recent years.
Miss Austen is based on the bestselling historical fiction novel by Gill Hornby about Cassandra Austen (Jane Austen’s sister) as she mourns the loss of her sister Jane and decides to burn most of Jane Austen’s letters – a mystery that likely will never be solved by historians in real life.
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If you’ve read the book like I have, you know just how good this costume drama will likely be. With incredible characterization, iconic characters, and even some romance, this is a period drama not to be missed.
The four-part series is adapted by award-winning writer Andrea Gibb (Mayflies, Elizabeth is Missing). BAFTA-winning filmmaker Aisling Walsh (Maudie) directed, and Stella Merz (Gentleman Jack, Renegade Nell) produced.
Miss Austen is a co-production of MASTERPIECE and Bonnie Productions and is also associated with the BBC and Federation Stories.
So, let’s get right to it. Here is everything you need to know about Miss Austenon MASTERPIECE on PBS…
ABOUT MISS AUSTEN BY GILL HORNBY
Official Macmillan Book Synopsis:
A #1 International Bestseller
“A deeply imagined and deeply moving novel. Reading it made me happy and weepy in equally copious amounts.” —Karen Joy Fowler
“You can’t help feeling that Jane would have approved.” —The Guardian
For fans of Jo Baker’s Longbourn, a witty, wonderfully original novel about Cassandra Austen and her famous sister, Jane.
Whoever looked at an elderly lady and saw the young heroine she once was?
England, 1840. Two decades after the death of her beloved sister, Jane, Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury and the home of her family friends, the Fowles. In a dusty corner of the vicarage, there is a cache of Jane’s letters that Cassandra is desperate to find. Dodging her hostess and a meddlesome housemaid, Cassandra eventually hunts down the letters and confronts the secrets they hold, secrets not only about Jane but about Cassandra herself. Will Cassandra bare the most private details of her life to the world, or commit her sister’s legacy to the flames?
Moving back and forth between the vicarage and Cassandra’s vibrant memories of her years with Jane, interwoven with Jane’s brilliantly reimagined lost letters, Miss Austen is the untold story of the most important person in Jane’s life. With extraordinary empathy, emotional complexity, and wit, Gill Hornby finally gives Cassandra her due, bringing to life a woman as captivating as any Austen heroine.
For more on the historical fiction novel, read my book review of Miss Austen.
MISS AUSTEN 2025 RELEASE DATE ON MASTERPIECE ON PBS
Miss Austen premieres on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at 9/8c on MASTERPIECE on PBS and will also be available on PBS Passport. There will be four episodes in total, airing weekly.
Miss Austen airs as follows:
- Episode 1 on Sunday, May 4 at 9/8c
- Episode 2 on Sunday, May 11 at 9/8c
- Episodes 3 & 4 back-to-back on Sunday, May 18 starting at 9/8c.
As PBS has already pointed out, it’s the perfect timing since 2025 will mark 250 years since Jane Austen’s birth. What an exciting milestone! This miniseries is one of the best ways to celebrate the author (and now her beloved sister, Cassandra!).
MISS AUSTEN PBS CAST
Keeley Hawes (The Durrells in Corfu) stars in the lead role as Cassandra Austen, Patsy Ferran (Living, Jamestown) portrays Jane Austen, Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) plays their mother, Mrs. Austen, and Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones) as Isabella Fowle – a spinster.
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The other cast members and characters include Synnøve Karlsen (Last Night in Soho) as young Cassy Austen, Max Irons (The White Queen) as Henry Hobday, Calam Lynche (Bridgerton) as Tom Fowle – Cassandra’s fiancé, Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter) as Mr. Lidderdale – a country doctor, Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean), Madeleine Walker as Eliza Fowle, Mirren Mack as Dinah, Clare Foster as Beth Fowle, Carys Bowkett as Anna Austen, Ruby Richardson as Alethea Bigg Withers, Jessica Hynes as Mary, and Liv Hill as Young Mary.
MISS AUSTEN FIRST LOOK PHOTOS
Without further ado, here are some thrilling new first-look photos from PBS’ Miss Austen.
PLOT DETAILS
There are few things more fascinating or enduring than a real-life mystery. Miss Austen takes one of the most prominent literary mysteries in history – 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.
In Miss Austen, the drama begins in 1830, many years after Jane has died. Cassandra rushes to visit Isabella, the niece of her long-dead fiancé, who is about to lose her home following her father’s death. Cassandra is ostensibly there to help Isabella, but her real motive is to find a hidden bundle of private letters which, in the wrong hands, she fears could destroy Jane’s reputation.
On discovering them, Cassandra is overwhelmed as she is transported back to her youth. In flashback, we meet Young Cassy and Jane as they navigate the romantic infatuations, family feuds and dashed hopes which shaped their lives, and laid the foundations for Jane’s unforgettable stories. Cassandra’s re-evaluation of her past eventually leads her to find a way to guide Isabella towards the path of true happiness.
MISS AUSTEN SNEAK PEEK – MASTERPIECE WINTER/SPRING 2025 PREVIEW
While you can watch the official trailer for Miss Austen below, you can see some clips within the new MASTERPIECE Winter/Spring 2025 preview trailer. Plus, there’s some other great dramas on the way.
MISS AUSTEN OFFICIAL TRAILER
For more on the 2025 PBS schedule, see 30+ New and Returning Shows to Watch on PBS and PBS’ Masterpiece in 2024 & 2025
MISS AUSTEN PERIOD DRAMA REVIEW
Update: We have now watched Miss Austen and it is fantastic! You can read our complete review here: Miss Austen (2025) PBS Review: A Powerful Period Drama Worth Watching
Bookmark the page for future Miss Austen updates!
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