The Jane Austen BBC Radio Drama Collection

Overview

A collection of BBC radio full-cast dramatizations of Jane Austen's six major novels Jane Austen is one of the finest writers in the English language, and this volume includes all six of her classic novels. In Mansfield Park, on a quest to find a position in society, Fanny Price goes to live with her rich aunt and uncle. In Northanger Abbey, young, naïve Catherine Morland receives an invitation to stay at the isolated Gothic mansion Northanger Abbey. In Sense and Sensibility, forced to leave their family home after their father's death, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood try to forge a new life at Barton Cottage. In Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet is determined to get her five daughters married well, so when the wealthy Mr. Bingley and his friend Mr. Darcy move into the neighborhood, her hopes are raised. In Emma, Emma Woodhouse declares she will never marry, but she is determined to find a match for her friend Harriet. Finally, in Persuasion, Eight years ago, Anne Elliot rejected a marriage proposal from a handsome but poor naval officer—but now her former love has returned.  With an all-star cast including David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch, Julia McKenzie, Jenny Agutter, Toby Jones, Eve Best, and Juliet Stevenson, these BBC radio adaptations are full of humor, romance, love lost, and love regained. Duration: approx. 15 hours 30 mins

Author Biography

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775. Her novels were written in the intervals between family excursions, although not in the order in which they were published. Sense and Sensibility  was originally written in 1795 as Elinor and Marianne. Pride and Prejudice began life as "First Impressions" in 1797. Her other novels include Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion. She died on July 18, 1817. Jane Austen's novels have acquired a following which is almost cult-like, and the many dramatizations of her work for screen, television, and radio are testament to the books' enduring popularity. One of her works was amongst the earliest transmissions to be heard on BBC radio: a reading of the proposal scene from Pride and Prejudice was broadcast on January 15, 1924.