The Other Bennet Sister cast on why we love Austen

If you’re a Jane Austen fan, Lizzy, Jane, Kitty and Lydia will most likely be the Bennet sisters you remember from Pride and Prejudice.

But in the new continuation of the story, it is their anxious and strange sister Mary who takes center stage.

“I am here [Jane] “As a Croydon kid, Austen felt like she wouldn’t have anything to say to me as a teenager,” says Sarah Quintrell, screenwriter of the upcoming BBC drama The Other Bennet Sister.

But after reading the author’s works, she couldn’t believe how connected she felt to Austen’s characters. In 19th-century novels, he says, it was as if he “knew everyone.”

Adapted from Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name, the new series is about Mary, the middle sister of the Bennet family, becoming a governess to the Gardiner family.

Continuing from Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice; A story focusing on the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy; Mary’s most memorable scene here is her awkwardly playing the piano at the ball.

Actress Ella Bruccoleri, who plays the teenage Mary, says she was drawn to the character because she was an “unconventional period drama heroine” who was anxious, quirky and had none of the composure that other Regency-era heroines had.

Quintrell adds: “He’s a strange person. It’s really hard for him to find his place in the world. And I think that’s going to really resonate with modern audiences.”

The screenwriter encourages young people like herself to interact with Austen’s fictional worlds. “You will find so many things to recognize.”

Tuesday is Austen’s 250th birthday. With Pride and Prejudice published in 1813, why do the cast and crew of this new drama think his work continues to speak to people?

Maddie Close, who plays Jane Bennet in the upcoming series, says Mary’s coming-of-age story and journey to self-acceptance are more meaningful than ever.

“It’s so beautiful to watch her blossom and find herself,” she says, adding that stories like Mary’s are especially needed for young people trying to navigate the world and social media.

Grace Hogg-Robinson, who plays Mary’s sister Lydia Bennet, agrees, adding that Austen’s characters stand the test of time because people often encounter them at key turning points in their lives, such as when reading Pride and Prejudice at GCSE.

The actress believes Mary is “much more relatable” to modern audiences than some iconic Austen characters, explaining that “a lot of people feel like she’s the person no one quite remembers.”

“It’s really nice to tell this story,” he adds.

Poppy Gilbert, who plays Lizzy Bennet, says Mary is the sister she connects with the most, and others will too, thanks to her experience of feeling “constantly compared to others.”

Costume designer Sian Jenkins sought to show Mary’s journey of finding herself, with her wardrobe shifting from creams and beiges to dark greens and reds throughout the series, despite her mother, the infamous Mrs Bennet, scolding her at every opportunity.

Bruccoleri adds that her character’s biggest journey on the show is finding a way to emotionally distance herself from her overbearing mother.

To do this, she must learn to live without his “approval or approval” and give it to him.

Bruccoleri says Austen’s dry, humorous writing provides sharp social commentary without shoving her message “down your throat.”

“Mrs. Bennet does not value Mary as much as she does the other sisters, because she thinks their worth is too closely tied to their ability to marry,” he says.

Molly Wright, who plays Kitty, adds that Austen was “way ahead of her time” in her views on “marriage and feminism” in Pride and Prejudice.

Hogg-Robinson, who plays Lydia, says it took her time to realize “how accurate and insightful” Austen’s work was after reading it quickly for her GCSEs and then taking it up as an adult.

Austen’s perspective on love and relationships continues to resonate, she says, pointing to a TikTok trend focusing on how Mr. Darcy changes his behavior to win Lizzy in the original novel.

“Everyone was doing it [trend] ‘Well, if she wanted to she could,’ and Jane Austen got that 250 years ago,” he explains.

Screenwriter Quintrell feels very fortunate to have contributed to an ongoing story in the world of Pride and Prejudice.

Even though two centuries have passed, “the characters and the emotional journeys they go through truly seem to have never aged,” he says.

He thinks that’s why people like him and novelist Hadlow want to continue expanding the Bennets’ story.

Gilbert says the new series feels like a “behind-the-scenes” Pride and Prejudice, and viewers can expect to see the siblings not only interacting in ballrooms but also “chatting in the bathroom” and caring for the family dog.

Ultimately, Quintrell says it was really important to uncover the story of Pride and Prejudice because, growing up, she felt that the works belonged to scientists and academics and that she wasn’t allowed to “own” the texts.

“No matter where you’re from, no matter where you grew up, you’ll find something to connect with in Austen’s work, and hopefully in The Other Bennet Sister,” he says.

The Other Bennet Brother is coming to the BBC soon.

Additional reporting by Samuel Spencer.