‘Sanditon’ writer is considering an adaptation of Austen’s ‘Mansfield Park’

The writer of Sanditon could be tackling another Jane Austen tale next.

Award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies adapted Austen’s unfinished final novel Sanditon for ITV last year.

Despite winning over a legion of loyal fans in the UK and the US, the show’s ratings weren’t high enough for ITV to order more episodes.

PBS also confirmed in February that “there are no plans for another season.”

So with a second season of Sanditon not happening anytime soon, writer Andrew Davies has been mulling the possibility of tackling another Jane Austen story.

Having already adapted Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Sense & Sensibility, and Northanger Abbey for television, Davies has only a couple of options left.

The Welsh writer told Town & Country: “I’ve done four of the six. I suppose, five of the seven, if you count Sanditon. Mansfield Park and Persuasion are the only two that I haven’t had a go at.

“I was partly re-reading Mansfield Park to see if I was interested in doing it again. If anybody wanted me to, I certainly would take a chance.”

Mansfield Park is Jane Austen’s third published novel and was first published in 1814.

The story was most recently adapted for television by ITV in 2007, starring Billie Piper (Doctor Who).

Davies has confessed, however, that Mansfield Park is actually his least favourite of Austen’s novels, although he admitted: “I’m enjoying it much more than I thought I was going to.”

He explained: “I think because Austen set herself the most difficult problem in it. I mean, compared with Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, or Emma, for example, who have clever, beautiful, witchy heroines, Fanny Price is shy, sickly, and dull. She’s not particularly clever, but she is good, and that’s almost all she has going for her.

“So, Jane Austen tries to write a really captivating story, with a heroine who has none of the big advantages that her other heroines have. It’s difficult to warm to Fanny, but I think in the end you do. It’s a deeply satisfying read.”

If you’re missing Sanditon, you can now listen to the music from the series.

Fans can also read The World of Sanditon: The Official Companion, a gorgeous book providing an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show.

Sanditon is available on DVD on Amazon.