Lost In Austen

Having left Longbourn with nowhere else to go, Amanda (Jemima Rooper) is forced to turn to her chief adversary, Wickham (Tom Riley). He buys her a new dress and instructs her in matters of etiquette and bearing, before re-introducing her into society. He suggests that what Amanda needs to do is marry a rich man. However Amanda has other plans.

She writes a letter to Jane (Morven Christie), hoping to repair their friendship, and is invited to stay in the parsonage at Rosings.

Marriage to Collins (Guy Henry) has made Jane utterly miserable - she is a shadow of her former self. How on earth is Amanda going to get her out of this mess?

Mr Bennet (Hugh Bonneville) is furious with himself for having allowed his lovely daughter to marry the ogre Collins for the good of the family, which puts the Bennets’ marriage under pressure. After a series of arguments Mrs Bennet decides to leave Longbourn to stay with Jane.

At Rosings Park, we meet the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Lindsay Duncan), who is rather entertained by Amanda. Tensions between Amanda and Darcy (Elliot Cowan) build, he is infuriated that she seems to be following him around. Lady Catherine watches on and warns Amanda that she does not consider her a suitable match for her nephew, but Amanda denies she has any feelings for Darcy.

Bingley (Tom Mison) bitterly regrets not making his true feelings known to Jane, who he still loves. He blames Darcy and has taken to drinking.

Darcy apologises to Amanda for having obstructed the relationship between Jane and Bingley as he sees now that he was wrong. He invites Amanda to Pemberley and the entire party follow on.

Whilst at Pemberley, Darcy declares his love to Amanda. Amanda is overjoyed, but wracked with guilt - what about Elizabeth Bennet? However her protestations fall on deaf ears as Darcy is insistent he is not interested in Elizabeth, whomever she may be.

As Darcy’s wife, Amanda realises she will have the power to make amends for all that has gone wrong. She can look after Jane, and even buy Longbourn for the Bennet family.

However, all is lost when Bingley’s sister, Caroline (Christina Cole), pushes Darcy to inquire after Amanda’s past, and Amanda admits to having had past relationships. Darcy cannot marry her, for she is not a maid.

In a fury Amanda rips up her copy of Pride and Prejudice, and flings it out the window, only for Darcy to discover the ripped pages. How can she explain her way out of this?

Last edited: Friday, 5 September 2008