It was the perfect setting for Dolly Alderton to give a clandestine sneak peek of her new series, Pride and Prejudice: the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England, which is the largest and longest-running celebration of the writer. Throngs of devotees, some in their best Regency-era dress, flocked to get an early glimpse of the new adaptation. Check out the legendary actors taking on Austen’s beloved characters below.
Olivia Colman as Mrs. Bennet
Rufus Sewell as Mr. Bennet
In the first look at the full cast, we see Olivia Colman as Mrs. Bennet eagerly greeting a gentleman who’s calling upon her daughter. Mr. Bennet, played by Rufus Sewell, gazes skeptically from a book in his study. Their curly-headed brood is led by Freya Mavor as Jane and Emma Corrin as Elizabeth, or Lizzy, who share a joke from their favorite perch. Playing Kitty and Lydia, Hollie Avery and Rhea Norwood promise mischief and fun as they run across Longbourn’s driveway. You can almost hear piano notes wafting through the drawing room as Mary, played by Hopey Parish, prepares her sheet music.
Freya Mavor as Jane Bennet and Emma Corrin as Lizzy Bennet
Hollie Avery as Kitty Bennet and Rhea Norwood as Lydia Bennet
Hopey Parish as Mary Bennet
Alderton also presented some of the Bennet sisters’ suitors. The fixed stares of Jack Lowden as Fitzwilliam Darcy and Daryl McCormack as Charles Bingley telegraph yearning like we’ve never seen before. Jamie Demetriou plays everyone’s favorite clergyman, Mr. Collins. Louis Partridge’s George Wickham has a Cheshire cat grin so winning that it’s no wonder more than one Bennet girl falls under his spell.
Jack Lowden as Mr. Darcy
Daryl McCormack as Mr. Bingley
Jamie Demetriou as Mr. Collins
Louis Partridge as George Wickham
At the Jane Austen Festival, Alderton shared the highly anticipated series’ release date: Dec. 3. The six episodes will hew closely to the 1813 novel — which has captivated readers for centuries with its ever-relevant social commentary, razor-sharp wit, and indelible love story — but also take some thoughtful creative turns.
Fans gathered from near and far to celebrate Austen, who’s credited with writing the original blueprints for our favorite love stories. In addition to Alderton’s event, the festival includes a tour of Hampshire, a Regency dance workshop, a nighttime ghost walk through the haunted streets of Bath, and much more — all paying tribute to the writer.
At the age of 20, Austen sat down at her family home of Steventon Rectory in Hampshire, England, and began drafting a novel she titled First Impressions. It was 1796. Austen had been writing through her teen years, but the young author had yet to be published. First Impressions was no exception and was rejected by a publisher on first read. It would take 15 years before the novel reached readers’ hands, and when it did, no author was listed on the cover at the time, just a new name: Pride and Prejudice.
It was an unimaginable beginning for a novel that, centuries later, is still beloved, taught in schools across the world, and featured on “great books” lists by organizations like the BBC and PBS. And it remains an inspiration for writers across all forms.
Couldn’t make it to Bath to join in on the festivities? Celebrate Austen by watching Alderton’s homage to the scribe. Start by reading everything there is to know about the new Pride and Prejudice — including who else is in the cast.
