Review of Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius

Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius is a three-part documentary which focuses on the writer Jane Austen’s life from her childhood to her death at age 41 in 1817. It is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer and is narrated by the actor Juliet Stevenson. Alongside Stevenson other people discuss Austen including the actor Charity Wakefield and the writer Helen Fielding. Actors in period dress, including Emöke Zsigmond as Jane Austen and Adél Jordan as Austen’s cousin Eliza depict events from Austen’s life.

Cassandra Austen, Vignettes of Early Kings of England from Austen’s History of England, 1922. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.

The first episode explores Austen’s early life in Hampshire, where she grew up and her early writing. There are several surviving notebooks that include works which Austen wrote between the ages of eleven to eighteen which were published after her death in 1817. These are largely fictional works which range from plays to short novels as well as other forms of writing. Jane Austen Expert, Kathryn Sutherland argues that these sometimes parody and critique writing from Austen’s lifetime. One of Austen’s early works was called the History of England and features illustrations by Austen’s sister Cassandra. It was written when Austen was 15 and parodies Oliver Goldsmith’s book The History of England from the Earliest Times to the Death of George II. This was a history book that was studied by children in the late 1700s including Austen and her siblings when they were growing up.

Austen’s later work continued to satirise and critique popular writing. For example, Austen’s posthumously published novel Northanger Abbey subverts and critiques Gothic Literature which was popular in her lifetime. In many late Eighteenth Century Gothic novels, the heroine would have a bleak family history and there would be dark secrets surrounding her and her family (Scopic,2019). In contrast, Northanger Abbey’s protagonist Catherine Moorland has a happy upbringing with loving parents and many siblings. There are also no secrets surrounding her and her family. Moreover, many eighteenth century gothic heroines were written with little agency and had few personality flaws, in contrast Catherine is a flawed person, who actively makes events happen. (Scopic,2019).

Charles Edward Brock, Illustration from Chapter Five of Catherine and her friend Isabella 1907 Edition of Northanger Abbey, 1907. Source Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.

The documentary does not explain why Austen’s early work remained unpublished during her lifetime. Nonetheless, the notebooks with her early writing contain wear from heavy use and were read aloud to other people during her lifetime. Moreover, Austen’s niece Anna Austen Lefroy and her half- brother James Edward Austen Leigh added their own contributions to one of the notebooks. Anna later wrote and published two children’s books including one named Springtide in 1842. James wrote a book called A Memoir of Jane Austen with the help and contribution of his sister Caroline, Anna and their cousin Cassy Esten Austen. This was the first major published biography of Jane Austen.

Episode one also explores the difficulties Austen faced with getting her work published, using the example of her novel Northanger Abbey. Austen wrote Northanger Abbey in the early 1800s and sold it to a publisher named Crosby and Co with the understanding that it would be published immediately, which did not happen. Crosby and Co later claimed that they had no intention of doing this. Some years later, Austen’s brother Henry brought back the copyright for Jane. However, Northanger Abbey was not published until six months after Jane’s death in 1817. The inclusion of Austen’s struggles with Northanger Abbey works well as it is a struggle many writers face. This is because many writers including myself have struggled to get work published and this makes Austen appear as someone we can relate to.

Episode two explores Austen’s life from her late twenties to her mid to early thirties. This episode refers to the publication of Sense and Sensibility, Austen’s first published novel. Episode two gives a brief overview of its characters and plot which is quite broad and is summed up in a few sentences. Then there is a brief analysis of a couple of points from Sense and Sensibility which is also done when Austen’s other novels are discussed. This works well as the documentary covers a lot of information so there is not enough time to give an in-depth analysis of every novel.

Episode two is bolstered by the inclusion of clips from a 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet (dir. by Ang Lee). Lee’s film won awards including the 1996 BAFTA Award for Best Film. Thompson won a BAFTA for best actress and Winslet won a BAFTA for best supporting actress. Lee’s film is compelling: however, the documentary would have benefited from exploring more film and television adaptations of Sense and Sensibility. Every director has their own ideas about how a novel should be depicted; therefore, it would have been interesting to see clips from more than one adaptation of Sense and Sensibility in order to see the differences and similarities between them.

The final episode discusses Austen’s life from her mid- thirties to her death at age forty-one. This includes a discussion of work, that she produced later in life including her last complete novel Persuasion.

Throughout the documentary, footage from film and television adaptations of Austen’s novels are used alongside quotes from them and a discussion about each of her works. This is done particularly well in the final episode when an emotional passage from Austen’s novel Persuasion is discussed. In this passage the novel’s protagonist Anne, receives a letter from her former fiancé Captain Wentworth, declaring that he has never stopped loving her and proposing marriage. Anne is greatly affected by the letter and goes to find him. The letter is very emotional as it involves Captain Wentworth talking deeply about his feelings for Anne. People in the documentary, including the actors Greg Wise and Samuel West talk about the letter and read quotes from it. Alongside this, clips of Anne reading the letter are shown from a 2022 production of Persuasion starring actors Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis as Anne and Wentworth. These clips work well alongside the discussion of Persuasion and quotations from it as they allow you both to imagine Anne’s response to the letter and see how she might have reacted to it. This is because although the scene is very emotional to read, the inclusion of clips from 2022 Film of Persuasion makes it even more affecting. This is due Johnson’s powerful performance of Anne’s response to the letter. 

Charles Edward Brock, Illustration from 1898 Edition of Persuasion of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth. 1898. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.

While wrapping up the story of Austen’s life, the last episode omits details that were an important part of Austen’s life. For example, the documentary discusses how Austen and her sister Cassandra both became ill while they were away at boarding school. The documentary states that Cassandra alone looked after Jane while she was ill. This is then compared to when Cassandra cared for Jane when she was dying. Key details are missed here, therefore failing to dissect nuances in Cassandra’s care for Austen.

It is true that Austen and her sister became very ill while at a school run by a woman called Mrs Cawley (Pibworth, 2017). Their cousin Jane Cooper who was at school with them, also became unwell and Mrs Cawley refused to inform the Coopers or the Austens of the girls’ health (Pibworth, 2017). Jane Cooper however wrote to her parents about her and her cousins’ illnesses and Mrs Austen and Mrs Cooper on hearing this, took their daughters’ home (Pibworth,2017). The girls were cared for by Mrs Austen and Mrs Cooper but tragically, Mrs Cooper subsequently became ill and died shortly after (Pibworth,2017). There are various sources that cover this period of illness, and none of them reference Cassandra as a caretaker of Austen. This undermines the authority of the documentary and suggests that not all sources about Austen’s life were consulted. This was a confusing choice for a biographical documentary because with these tactics the documentary, paints an incorrect picture of what happened. Therefore, the documentary should not have used the comparison between Cassandra and Austen’s years at school to the time when Austen was dying.

As mentioned previously, there are actors who depict episodes from Austen’s life in all three episodes. The actors accurately depict emotional events and provide a strong image of Austen and the people surrounding her. A good effort is made by the costumes to match the contemporary fashion of Austen's time, however, there is not much nuance as decades change. Storylines could have been bolstered by more detailed costume choices to immerse the viewer in the programme.

The actor Emöke Zsigmond wears a gold ring with a blue stone in all three episodes of the documentary. Austen owned a ring with a gold band and a turquoise stone and due to the similarities, the documentary is probably referencing Austen’s ring. Austen’s ring is currently on display in Jane Austen’s House which is a museum open to the public in Chawton in Hampshire. It was also formerly a house Austen lived in with her sister Cassandra, their mother and their friend Martha Lloyd. The reference to Austen’s ring makes the one Zsigmond is wearing seem very authentic to Austen. This is because it almost feels as if Zsigmond has become Austen due to the personal nature of the ring.

Billy, Jane Austen’s House. 2011. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic.

Overall, this documentary makes some compelling points. This series is a great introductory watch to become familiar with Austen’s history and the literary techniques she used because the documentary gives a thorough and detailed account of her life and work. For viewers who are already familiar with Austen's life, this may not be an educational watch but it still offers a good illustrative view for all Austen enthusiasts.

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Bibliography

A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen Leigh. Available at: A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen-Leigh | Jane Austen's House , (Accessed 20 December 2025).

Anna Austen Lefroy: A Believer in True Love. (26 July 2011) Available at : Anna Austen Lefroy: A believer in True Love - Jane Austen articles and blog, ( Accessed 20 December 2025).

Austen, J. (1996, originally published 1813) Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Classics: London.

Garcia, J (14 May 2018) Jane Austen’s Juvenilia: Extravagantly Absurd and Outrageously Funny. Available at: Jane Austen's juvenilia: extravagantly absurd and outrageously funny – The Oxford Student , (Accessed  26 December 2025).

Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius. (2025). Directed by Ali Naushahi. (Documentary) BBC 2 Television, 27 May-9^th June.

Jane Austen’s Ring. Available at: Jane Austen's Ring | Jane Austen's House (Accessed 19 December 2025).

Pibworth, J. (2017). Why did Jane Austen go to School in Reading ?. Available at: Why did Jane Austen go to school in Reading? | Reading Museum. (Accessed 30 August 2025).

Scopic, A. (2019) Her Dark Materials: The Gothic Novelas as a Social-Political Critique in Northanger Abbey. Available at: httpps://jasna.org/publications-2/essay-contest-winning-entries/2019-essay-contest/skopic/ (Accessed 6 August 2025).

Sutherland, K. Jane Austen’s Juvenilia. Jane Austen’s Juvenilia | The British Library (Accessed 4 August 2025).