Sense and Sensibility is a 2008 British television drama adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility. The screenplay was written by Andrew Davies, who said that the aim of the series was to make viewers forget Ang Lee's 1995 film Sense and Sensibility. The series was "more overtly sexual" than previous Austen adaptations, and Davies included scenes featuring a seduction and a duel that are suggested in Austen's book but were absent from the feature film. Sense and Sensibility was directed by John Alexander and produced by Anne Pivcevic. Hattie Morahan and Charity Wakefield starred as Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, two sisters who go on "a voyage of burgeoning sexual and romantic discovery".

The series was shot on location in the English counties of Berkshire, Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Devon for two months from April 2007. Sense and Sensibility was co-produced by the BBC and American studio WGBH Boston. It was aired in three parts from 1 January 2008 in the United Kingdom and attracted an average of 6 million viewers per episode. The first episode also became one of the top ten most streamed programmes on the BBC iPlayer. Sense and Sensibility garnered mostly positive reviews from television critics, while the cast and crew earned several award nominations for their work. It was released on a two-disc DVD in the UK on 14 January 2008.

Plot When Henry Dashwood dies, his entire fortune and home, Norland Park, are left to his son, John, as required by law. John promised his father to provide for his stepmother Mary Dashwood and half-sisters Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret. However, John's wife Fanny persuades him to make a much smaller provision than he had originally intended. In addition, women must eventually leave Norland Park. Fanny's brother Edward Ferrars comes to visit, and he quickly befriends Elinor. While Mrs. Dashwood hopes they become engaged, Fanny informs her that his mother intends for Edward to marry a richer and more socially prominent woman. Mrs. Dashwood's cousin Sir John Middleton, writes her, offering a small cottage on his estate, Barton Park in Devonshire. She and her daughters leave Norland immediately.

During a welcome dinner at Barton Park. Sir John introduces the Dashwoods to his wife, Lady Middleton, her mother, Mrs. Jennings, and their family friend, Colonel Brandon. Brandon is instantly attracted to Marianne, though she considers him too old for her. While out walking with Margaret, Marianne falls and twists her ankle. A handsome young man appears and carries her back to the cottage. He introduces himself as John Willoughby and promises to check on Marianne the following day. Brandon also visits but upon seeing Willoughby there, quickly departs. Willoughby and Marianne grow close through their mutual love of poetry, and he later takes a lock of her hair. Mrs. Dashwood and Elinor wonder whether if they are secretly engaged.

Brandon invites the Dashwoods and the Middletons to a picnic on his estate, Delaford. Just as they party is about to embark, Brandon is called away on urgent business. Willoughby later requests a private meeting first with Marianne and then Mrs Dashwood, leading them to expect that he will propose marriage. However, Willoughby reveals that his aunt is sending him to London on business and he may not be able to return for at least a year. Shortly after Willoughby's departure, Edward visits. The Dashwoods notice that he appears to be unhappy and distant. Lucy and Anne Steele, Mrs. Jennings' nieces, come to visit at Barton Park. When Lucy learns that the Dashwoods are acquainted with the Ferrars, Lucy confides in Elinor that she and Edward have been secretly engaged for four years, leaving Elinor devastated. Mrs. Jennings invites Elinor and Marianne to spend some time with her in London, and Marianne hopes she will see Willoughby there. However, after she arrives, he does not visit or reply to her letters.

During a party, Marianne finds Willoughby, but he barely acknowledges their acquaintance. Marianne later learns that he is engaged to the wealthy Miss Grey, and becomes inconsolable. Brandon calls on the Dashwoods and tells Elinor that Willoughby seduced and then abandoned when pregnant Brandon's young ward, Eliza Williams, who has subsequently given birth to a child. Mrs. Ferrars learns of Edward's engagement to Lucy and threatens to disinherit him unless he calls it off, but Edward refuses. Brandon later offers him a clerical living on his estate at Delaford, which Edward gladly accepts. While staying with Mrs. Jennings' daughter Mrs. Palmer on the return to Devonshire, Marianne goes walking in a storm and collapses. Brandon finds her and brings her back, where she falls seriously ill with a fever. During Marianne's recovery, Willoughby visits Elinor. He insists that he loved Marianne and intended to propose but needed to marry a rich woman after his aunt disowned him upon learning about Eliza. When Marianne recovers, the sisters return home and Marianne spends time at Delaford, eventually falling in love with Brandon. Elinor learns that Lucy Steele has become Mrs. Ferrars and assumes that Lucy and Edward have married. However, Edward arrives at the cottage and explains to the Dashwoods that Lucy has married his younger brother Robert instead because Mrs Ferrars has transferred Edward's inheritance to Robert. Edward then declares his love to Elinor and proposes. They marry, as do Marianne and Brandon.

Cast Dominic Cooper as John Willoughby Charity Wakefield as Marianne Dashwood Hattie Morahan as Elinor Dashwood Janet McTeer as Mrs Dashwood Lucy Boynton as Margaret Dashwood David Morrissey as Colonel Brandon Linda Bassett as Mrs Jennings Mark Williams as Sir John Middleton Claire Skinner as Fanny Dashwood Rosanna Lavelle as Lady Middleton Dan Stevens as Edward Ferrars Jean Marsh as Mrs Ferrars Mark Gatiss as John Dashwood Anna Madeley as Lucy Steele Daisy Haggard as Anne Steele

Production Conception and adaptation On 5 October 2005, a reporter for the BBC News revealed that writer Andrew Davies was planning to adapt Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility into a major television drama due to be broadcast on the BBC in two years. Davies commented, "When they are great stories, you keep on coming back to them and doing them in different ways with different people at different lengths." Davies said that his script was in the early stages and that no actors had yet been cast. The writer later expressed his delight at adapting the novel during an interview with Paul Carey from the Western Mail, calling Austen his "favourite novelist". He also admitted that due to the acclaim he received for his adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, there was pressure on him to get Sense and Sensibility right. Davies later stated that the aim of the miniseries was to make viewers forget about Ang Lee's 1995 film adaptation of the novel.

The opening episode of Sense and Sensibility features the moment Willoughby seduces Eliza, who is still a schoolgirl. Davies told Carey and Claire Hill from the Western Mail that he wanted "to do justice" to Willoughby's back story, saying that it is "quite interesting and steamy stuff like a lot of underage sex that goes on and is just talked about. I want to put it on the screen." Davies elaborated on this further in an interview with The Independent's Peter Chapman, saying that the seduction and abandonment of a schoolgirl which features in the novel needed dramatising. He believed readers of the novel "hardly notice" the moment, which he felt was very important. The writer said that the series was "more overtly sexual" than previous adaptations of Austen's works and added, "The novel is as much about sex and money as social conventions." Davies also included a duel between Colonel Brandon and Willoughby in his screenplay, an event that was absent from Lee's film, but is mentioned in the original novel.

Davies said that Lee's film did not overcome "the problem of the guys who get the girls not seeming quite good enough", and set out to try to find a way of making them into heroes in his script. He said that Austen should have made the reader feel that Edward was worthy of Elinor and explained how Marianne falls in love with Colonel Brandon, after having her heart broken by Willoughby. The writer added more weight to the male roles, so they could be turned into stronger characters. Davies told Hill that the team "worked very hard" on the men. Brandon is seen rescuing people and doing a lot of fast horse riding, while Edward was given a wood-chopping scene where he vents his frustrations about his engagement. Davies also made the Dashwood sisters younger and "more vulnerable" than they were portrayed in Lee's film. Hattie Morahan, who portrayed Elinor in the drama, stated, "We are trying to play the story as it was written. In the novel the girls are 19 and 17, so these romantic relationships are real rites of passage for them."

Casting

Davies commented that he would have liked to have been in charge of the casting. He revealed that he had initially objected to Hattie Morahan being cast in the role of the eldest Dashwood sister, Elinor. However, he was glad that his objections were ignored, because he fell in love with her performance. Morahan told The Daily Telegraph's Jasper Rees that she deliberately chose not to watch the 1995 film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility or think about Emma Thompson's portrayal of the character. She said that she had not "because you would go mad. It would distort your work. I thought, it'll be original by virtue of the fact that it's me doing it and there is only one me."

Charity Wakefield successfully auditioned for the role of Marianne Dashwood. The actress said, "Marianne is the embodiment of youth and hope. I was so excited to be offered the part because I felt that it was a role which I could really attack. I understand her character and feel that we have lots in common." Dan Stevens was chosen to play Edward Ferrars, Elinor's love interest. The actor revealed to a BBC journalist that he had really wanted the part and was excited by the challenge of the character. Stevens became ill with tonsillitis during the shoot, and quipped that there are very few shots of him in full health still in the series.

David Morrissey portrayed Colonel Brandon. The actor was sent the script by his agent, and he initially questioned whether another Austen adaptation was needed. However, he then read the script and thought it was "just brilliant", especially as Davies had added more scenes featuring the male characters. Dominic Cooper took on the role of John Willoughby, Brandon's rival for Marianne's affections. Describing his character, Cooper said "The way I tried to persuade myself he wasn't too bad was that he's a 25-year-old young guy and he genuinely falls in love with Marianne – he's not just doing it for one moment in time." Cooper said that he had fun working on the project.

Janet McTeer and Lucy Boynton were cast as Mrs Dashwood and Margaret Dashwood respectively. Mark Gatiss portrayed John Dashwood. Claire Skinner received the role of John's wife, Fanny, while Mark Williams was cast as Sir John Middleton. Linda Bassett and Jean Marsh were given the roles of Mrs Jennings and Mrs Ferrars respectively. Robert Bianco from USA Today commented that both women were "wonderfully cast". Actresses Anna Madeley and Daisy Haggard portrayed Lucy Steele and her sister Anne, a character who was omitted from the 1995 film.

Filming