Top 16 Jane Austen Conversions, from Pride and Prejudice to Persuasion

Teathere are so many here jane austen Adaptations for film and TV that are difficult to keep up with. But which ones are good?

To celebrate 250 years since the author’s birth, what better time to take a look at these page-to-screen translations?

Austen wrote six complete novels before she died: sense and Sensibility (1811), pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), emma (1816) – while Northanger Abbey And Incentive were published posthumously in 1818 – and creators have long looked to Austen for inspiration.

pride and prejudice has long been a popular choice, and in 2026 itself there will be a new Netflix series starring Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden as well as a new BBC series focusing on Mary Bennet. the other bennett sister,

emmaOriginally published in 1815, it has been adapted for TV and films a total of six times since 1948: three films (one of them for TV) and three miniseries.

Austen begins another novel, sanditonBut he died before it was finished. But it still managed to be adapted into an ITV series in 2021.

is also a short epic novel Lady Susan – Inspiration for the acclaimed 2006 film love and friendship, beckinsale also starred, Also an abandoned novel watsonwhich has so far only been turned into a play laura wadewho is better known for her stage hits luxurious,

With so many Austen costume dramas on the big and small screens, we rank some of the best.

16. Pride + Prejudice + Zombies, 2016

The title Says it all. This is probably the worst of all the adaptations, proving that Austen and zombies really don’t mix. It is based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s 2009 novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – a parody of Austen’s novel. It stars Lily James as Elizabeth and Sam Riley as Darcy. When zombies attack a ball that the Bennet sisters attend, they fight them. At the end of the film, when Darcy and Elizabeth get married to Bingley (Douglas Booth) and Jane (Bella Heathcote), zombies threaten to ruin everything. Same kind of thing.

15. The Bride and the Prejudice, 2004

This Bollywood style romance of Pride and Prejudice was directed by Gurinder Chadha. It received mixed reviews from critics, but is still highly entertaining as it swaps bonnets for sarees. It focuses on Lalita Bakshi (equivalent to Elizabeth Bennet), a young woman living in India, played by Aishwarya Rai. His Darcy is a suave American businessman, played by Martin Henderson, but the all-singing, all-dancing spin on Jane Austen’s novel lacks any real depth.

14. Sanditon, 2019 (ITV series)

Period drama adapter Andrew Davies this time turns his pen to Austen’s unfinished novel, written four months before her death. It stars Curfew’s Rose Williams as Charlotte Heywood and Downton Abbey’s Theo James as Sydney Parker. But it was criticized for excessive nudity and was labeled “cringe-worthy”. Independent.

13. Death Comes to Pemberley, 2013 (BBC TV series)

Based on the fan fiction novel by PD James, it takes place six years after the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. Revolving around a murder mystery, the three-part BBC TV series earned similar praise to James’s book, with The Independent praising the performances of Matthew Rhys as Darcy and Anna Maxwell Martin as Elizabeth. There were also standout performances from Jenna Coleman as Lydia Wickham and Matthew Goode as George Wickham.

12. Pride and Prejudice, 1940

The well-received MGM film ends with a long kiss between Laurence Olivier (Mr. Darcy) and Greer Garson (Elizabeth Bennet). This is one of the funniest film adaptations of Austen’s most famous novel, with fabulous costumes that look like they were borrowed from Gone with the Wind. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard and the screenplay was written by Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin.

11. Mansfield Park, 1999

This romantic comedy stars Frances O’Connor as Fanny Price and Jonny Lee Miller as Edmund Bertram. It is not faithful to the text; Director Patricia Rozema claimed that it was not a Jane Austen film, but a “Patricia Rozema film”. “My job as an artist is to provide a new perspective.” Rozema added Jane Austen’s character traits to Fanny’s character, created a “lesbian frisson” between Mary Crawford and Fanny, and made slavery a central plot point. The film received favorable reviews due to its boldness.

10. Emma, ​​1996

Gwyneth Paltrow makes a “brilliant Emma”, according to a review by The New York Times, while Rolling Stone said, “Gwyneth Paltrow creates such magic in Emma that you can almost hear the sound of a career going off into high gear.” First-time director Douglas McGrath co-wrote Bullets Over Broadway with Woody Allen to adapt the 1816 Austen novel. While others found Paltrow’s nasal voice annoying and her Emma lacking sarcasm, she nailed the English accent perfectly.

9. Persuasion, 1995 (BBC film)

There’s nothing like a happy ending and Austen was a master of it. Director Roger Michell’s BAFTA award-winning film is based on Austen’s 1817 novel of the same name. It stars Amanda Root as Anne Elliot and Ciaran Hinds as her love interest Captain Frederick Wentworth. The pair are reunited eight years later after Anne felt pressured into rejecting his marriage proposal – which she deeply regrets. He feels hurt by the rejection but eventually the path of true love runs smoothly for them.

8. Emma, ​​1996 (ITV film)

This ITV film is generally considered superior to Miramax’s star-studded film adaptation, which was released the same year. It was dramatized by Davis, who had recently done Pride and Prejudice for the BBC. It stars Kate Beckinsale as the wonderfully credible Emma Woodhouse, Mark Strong as George Knightley and Samantha Morton as Harriet Smith.

7. Pride and Prejudice, 2005

Joe Wright’s first feature film, starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as her romantic Mr. Darcy, was a commercial success. Knightley received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for this role.

It starred a stellar cast including the late Donald Sutherland (Mr. Bennet), Rosamund Pike (Jane Bennet), Carey Mulligan (Kitty Bennet), Judi Dench (Lady Catherine de Bourgh) and Rupert Friend (George Wickham). Screenwriter Deborah Moggach changed the film’s period setting to the late 18th century to make it stand out from the 1995 BBC adaptation, which still remains a favourite.

6. Northanger Abbey, 2007 (ITV film)

Felicity Jones perfectly portrayed Katherine Morland, the heroine of Northanger Abbey. Austen’s protagonist has a wild imagination and a passion for Gothic novels, but things begin to unravel when that imagination leads her astray. The adaptation stars JJ Field as Catherine’s lover Henry Tilney, and Carey Mulligan as her friend Isabella Thorpe. It was written by Andrew Davies, who adapted the 1995 Pride and Prejudice for the BBC and the TV adaptation of Emma the following year.

5. Bridget Jones’s Diary, 2001

It was not the book, but the 1995 BBC series Pride and Prejudice, that inspired author Helen Fielding to write her popular Bridget Jones novels. It’s fitting, then, that Colin Firth – who played Mr. Darcy – plays Mark Darcy, the lover of Bridget (Renée Zellweger) in one of Fielding’s films based on his work.

4. Love and Friendship, 2016

This acclaimed Amazon Original comedy became a welcome addition to the Jane Austen adaptation canon. It is based on Austen’s short historical novel Lady Susan, which was published posthumously. It stars Kate Beckinsale, who brilliantly plays the scheming Lady Susan, a recently widowed woman who tries to find a husband for herself and her daughter. The film also stars Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel and Emma Greenwell.

3. Clueless, 1995

This popular 1990s film is a modern take on Austen’s Emma, ​​but set in Beverly Hills rather than the fictional village of Highbury. It stars Alicia Silverstone as romantic matchmaker Cher Horowitz – a wealthy high-school student who decides she enjoys helping others find love. It became a surprise sleeper hit of 1995 and is considered one of the best teen movies of all time.

2. Pride and Prejudice, 1995 (BBC TV series)

No discussion of Jane Austen adaptations is complete without mention of this beloved and critically acclaimed six-part BBC mini series from master of sexed-up period drama Andrew Davies. Jennifer Ehle won a BAFTA for her role as Elizabeth Bennet, while Colin Firth found fame as Mr. Darcy. It is considered the starting point for the burgeoning Jane Austen adaptation industry in both TV and film.

1. Sense and Sensibility, 1995

Emma Thompson spent five years writing the Oscar-winning screenplay about the Dashwood sisters; It is being skillfully updated for a 20th century audience. The film, directed by Ang Lee, starred Thompson as Elinor Dashwood, while Kate Winslet played Elinor’s willful younger sister Marianne. After their father’s death, the sisters were deprived of their inheritance and forced to live in a small cottage in the country. Hugh Grant and Greg Wise played his companions, Edward Ferrers and John Willoughby, with the brilliant and much-missed Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon.