Jane Austen is 250 years old this year! If that feels hard to believe, it’s probably because her heroines keep popping up on our screens looking suspiciously lively: flirting in bonnets, trading killer side-eyes across ballrooms, and silently judging everyone within a ten-mile radius - god forbid women have hobbies!
The surprising bit isn’t that we keep remaking Austen, it’s how easily we still see ourselves in her stories. Her world was stiff, patriarchal, and oddly obsessed with marriage as a career move - yet people raised on dating apps and group chats still recognise the feelings. Her women want independence, respect, proper love, and yes, sometimes a rich man who isn’t completely dreadful! 250 years on, the outfits have changed, but the urge to swoon hasn’t.
Happy birthday, Jane! Thanks to these timeless adaptations you have outlived the quill and the corset - and we still can't get enough! We've picked five of the very best Austen dramas you can stream for free right now!
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Stream now on BBC iPlayer
Back in 1995, Pride and Prejudice arrived on our screens and suddenly everyone was talking like Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle) and checking the weather for potential pond outings. This BBC adaptation introduced Jane Austen to a whole new generation, sparked a national obsession with Colin Firth in wet shirts as Mr Darcy, and even nudged Helen Fielding into penning Bridget Jones’s Diary with its very own Darcy-like love interest!
The series felt like a cosy invitation to lose yourself in ballrooms, banter and bright green fields and became the version that turned Austen from assigned reading into appointment viewing!
Sanditon (2019)
Stream now on ITVX
Sanditon is Jane Austen with the tide half in and the ink pot still open. Her final, unfinished novel gets a glossy 2019 TV glow up, whisking us to a seaside town being invented in real time, fortunes rising with the sea air. At the centre is Charlotte Heywood, played with bright-eyed backbone by Rose Williams, who swaps rural calm for coastal ambition and a bracing dose of romance. Enter Theo James as the smouldering Sidney Parker, all sharp glances and emotional intensity. Lavish, witty and lightly wicked, Sanditon has become essential viewing for period drama fans. Austen's unfinished business never looked sooo inviting!
S1 to 3 are all streaming for freeee on ITVX now!
Sense and Sensibility (2008)
Stream now on BBC iPlayer
Prepare to have your heartstrings well and truly tugged by an adaptation that knows exactly when to lead with its head or its heart! The 2008 version of Sense and Sensibility breathes new, atmospheric life into the Dashwood sisters' journey, swapping drawing-room stuffiness for windswept cliffs and a properly romantic, rain-soaked energy. Hattie Morahan is a revelation as the stoic Elinor, anchoring the family with quiet strength, while Charity Wakefield brings a vibrant, impulsive charm to the love-struck Marianne.
Enter a pre-Downton Dan Stevens as the bumbling yet endearing Edward Ferrars, alongside David Morrissey, who brings a soulful, brooding depth to the iconic Colonel Brandon. It is lush, emotionally charged and wonderfully cinematic - proving that Austen’s classic tale of sisterhood and social survival is just as bracing as a Devonshire sea breeze.
Emma (2009)
Stream now on BBC iPlayer
Get ready to meet the ultimate matchmaker in an adaptation that is as bright and sunny as a June afternoon! This version of Emma brings Jane Austen’s most meddlesome heroine to life with heaps of wit and a gorgeous, candy-coloured palette. Romola Garai is absolutely enchanting as the well-meaning but hopelessly misguided Emma Woodhouse, capturing all her charm and occasional vanity perfectly. Watching her attempt to manage everyone’s love lives while completely ignoring her own is a proper delight.
And not forgetting Jonny Lee Miller, who brings a wonderful, dry-witted warmth to the role of Mr Knightley - the only man brave enough to tell Emma when she’s being a bit of a nightmare. It is funny, light-hearted and fizzing with chemistry, making the slow-burn romance feel fresh and genuinely moving.
Mansfield Park (1983)
Stream now on BBC iPlayer
Step back into the world of Austen with an adaptation that stays wonderfully faithful to the page! The 1983 version of Mansfield Park offers a thoughtful and detailed look at one of literature's most complex heroines - trading modern flash for a steady, patient build-up of tension and tradition. Sylvestra Le Touzel gives a carefully measured performance as the quiet and principled Fanny Price, capturing her journey from a timid "poor relation" to the moral heart of a chaotic household.
Navigating the social minefield alongside her is Nicholas Farrell as the kind-hearted Edmund Bertram, whose misplaced affections for the glamorous Crawford siblings provide plenty of drama. It is a slow-burn masterclass in manners and secret pining, set against the backdrop of a grand estate where every glance and hushed conversation carries real weight. This version is a proper treat for purists who want to see every bit of Austen’s biting social commentary brought to life with classic BBC charm.
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