Fans hailed the series a ‘masterpiece’(Image: BBC)
Devotees of The Other Bennet Sister will be heartbroken as the cherished period drama concludes tonight, but another Jane Austen adaptation is available to stream free on BBC iPlayer.
The four-part BBC drama Emma originally broadcast in 2009, with Romola Garai in the lead role.
The series draws from Austen’s 1815 novel Emma, and depicts the heroine as a prosperous, intelligent, self-reliant woman in the 19th century, who prides herself on matchmaking.
While interfering in the romantic affairs of those surrounding her, she starts to recognise her own potential romantic connection with her lifelong friend and mentor, Mr Knightley.
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Despite her rebellious nature and determination never to wed, the protagonist ultimately falls for him, reports Wales Online.
The series stars Jonny Lee Miller as Mr Knightley(Image: BBC)
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Emma, which was also reimagined as a 2020 film featuring Anya Taylor-Joy and Mia Goth, stars Jonny Lee Miller as Mr Knightley in the BBC drama.
Michael Gambon portrays Mr Woodhouse, and Louise Dylan appears as Harriet Smith, alongside Jodhi May, Robert Bathurst, Rupert Evans and Laura Pyper.
The series has been described as a “heart-warming masterpiece” by one fan, who wrote: “Nobody can outdo [the BBC] when it comes to English classics.” They continued: “I did not expect this series would move me so much.”
Another stated: “Definitely the best Emma I’ve ever seen! The casting was perfect; it is a must watch that goes on the shelf with the other greats, Pride and Prejudice, Wives and Daughters etc. Emma was my favourite book out of all Jane Austens works and this film really does it credit!”
Someone else posted: “The most perfect adaptation of Emma!,” while another shared: “This BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Emma” is a joy to watch from beginning to end. It is a fresh, delightful and more modern interpretation of the classic, but still maintaining a great deal of fidelity to the novel.”
Romola Garai plays Emma(Image: BBC)
Multiple others described it as a “gem”, while one viewer posted: “This is perhaps the best adaptation of a Jane Austen novel that I have seen put to screen.”
Speaking about taking on the part in a 2013 interview, Romola reflected on the literary work, saying: “I’ve always found it quite disturbing that Emma is a character that most critics, predominantly the literary canon as controlled by 19th century men, have struggled with.”
She continued: “For me it’s completely obvious why that is and it’s nothing to do with her personality, it’s because she’s rich and because she doesn’t have to get married.”
She added: “I actually had to sit on a lot of what I thought about Emma to allow myself to be properly directed and I had to pretend in the audition that I didn’t have lots of ideas that didn’t correlate with the director.
“It’s something I’ve had to learn the hard way – that you don’t always get the job by telling the director in the audition that you have very strong ideas about how it should be played!”
Emma is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
