Georgia Oakley establishes Austen’s ever-present hinterland of deep feelings right from the opening frame, with the natural world, especially animals never far from the characters’ lives.

IN JANE AUSTEN’S novels, the “wild landscapes” of the heart, brought centre stage a generation later by the Brontës, are unexpressed until silence and denial become impossible. Raw emotions should be private, and oversharing was not part of well mannered society. Managing the transitions between rational behaviour and excessive feeling is one of Austen’s constant themes and, although differently manifested, still very much an issue today. The screenplay for this new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility is written by Australian novelist Diana Reid, whose books feature contemporary young women negotiating similar dilemmas. Some things don’t change.

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