Emma Bbc Views

General Goods

UK bonnet drama viewers are in for a treat this week as the new BBC One miniseries of Jane Austen’s novel Emma premieres in the UK on Sunday, October 4th from 9–10:00 p.m. GMT. This is the first of four episodes of the adaptation by BAFTA award winning writer Sandy Welch (Our Mutual Friend, Jane Eyre, North And South). The esteemed cast is lead by Romola Garai (Atonement, Vanity Fair) as the clever, handsome and rich, but misguided, Miss Woodhouse and Jonny Lee Miller (Byron, Eli Stone, Trainspotting) as Emma’s reproachful neighbor and eventual love interest.

Surprisingly, the advance press on this production by BBC One has been rather slim and may reflect their move away from “traditional 19th century-set ‘bonnet’ dramas in favor of a grittier look at the period and a new focus on other historical eras.” We hope that despite BBC One’s meager publicity effort that Emma will pull viewers in strong numbers and sway their feeling on future period dramas. Emma certainly has superior production values in its favor with a talented screenwriter, an incredible cast, authentic locations, and beautiful costuming. North American audiences will have to wait to enjoy this miniseries when it airs next winter on Masterpiece Classic. Until then, this Janeite is all anticipation.

Reader Bill kindly informed me that the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in the village of Send, Surrey, stands in for Highburyl’s parish church in the new BBC Emma adaptation. Portions of the current church structure date back to as early as 1220! For photographs of the building and historical information, visit the Send Parish official site.

Emma is a four-part BBC television drama serial adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Emma, first published in 1815. The episodes were written by Sandy Welch, acclaimed writer of previous BBC costume-dramas Jane Eyre and North and South, and directed by Jim O'Hanlon. The serial stars Romola Garai as the titular heroine Emma Woodhouse, Jonny Lee Miller as her loyal life-long friend Mr. George Knightley and Michael Gambon as Emma's father, Mr. Woodhouse. The serial originally ran weekly on Sunday nights on BBC One from the 4 to 25 October 2009 .[1]