Think of period dramas, and the old trope of damsels in misery and knights in shining armor may spring to mind. While famous duration collections of late such as Poldark and Victoria are helmed by way of headstrong female leads, that, of course, hasn’t continually been the case.
One author who can pen an impartial heroine arguably better than absolutely everyone else is Jane Austen. The iconic creator is thought for bringing to lifestyles Elizabeth Bennet, a woman who’s extra involved with being nicely-study than deemed proper to men, and any other of her lesser-known characters has that same top-notch first-rate.
Charlotte Heywood is the leading female of Sanditon, Austen’s very last and unfinished novel. Austen laid the foundations of Heywood as a lady to be reckoned with, and now, in a brand new 8-component version, Andrew Davies (War and Peace) is choosing up wherein she left off.
In the collection, Davies uses the 11 chapters of Austen’s e-book to form the first half of episode one and imagines the rest of the tale the use of his creativity from there on in.
Rose Williams stars in the ITV drama as Charlotte, a young girl who meets the enterprising Parker family in a hazard come across and is taken on a journey from her contained, quiet life to the animated and on-the-upward push seashore town of Sanditon.
While younger and comparatively inexperienced, Charlotte is assured, bold and unconcerned with finding a husband, becoming predicted of her at that time, the Regency length.
Speaking approximately this refreshing take on a period drama heroine, Rose advised Goodhousekeeping.Com/united kingdom and other press ahead of the series airing:
“That’s the issue that drew me to the undertaking… there’s one scene where a maximum of the characters are sat around the desk at a luncheon birthday celebration, and Lady Denham (played by Anne Reid) confronts Charlotte, pronouncing: ‘Surely you’re here to find a husband,’ and Charlotte tells her no. That’s something that became paramount for me.
“Jane Austen in no way married, and her remark on marriage and the ridiculous pressure of marrying for a monetary cause is her legacy, so be able to play an Austen lead that isn’t after a man is simply excellent,” she said.
In the series, we see no longer most effective Charlotte’s world enlarge, however the modern Tom Parker (Kris Marshall) endeavors to position Sanditon on the map using a cross-to holiday vacation spot. Along the way, there’s additionally the canny and captivating Lady Denham (Anne Reid), Miss Lambe, an effective heiress (Crystal Clarke), and Tom’s unpredictable brother Sidney (Theo James).
“There are tips in the e-book that the dad and mom are looking for her to fly their nest and possibly locate any person, but that’s now not express in our version and something I wanted to make clear. She wants to come to Sanditon because she’s so inspired by way of the imaginative and prescient Tom Parker has for the area – it’s a business enterprise, it’s motion, it’s alternate. She’s had such a restrained village existence thus far… and has this kind of deep desires… and her hobby in architecture and innovation and assembly people from special locations is what attracts her to this location, as opposed to her just seeking out a husband. That’s quite stable for her during. It is a love tale; however, that’s something that unearths her rather than her seeking that out, which I suppose is cool,” the actor introduced.
Rose believes this spirit in Charlotte is the best right, given what we know approximately Austen’s very own lifestyles.
