Jane Austen and others like her tapped into something with regard to romance in the Regency Era. Her works have inspired many film and television adaptations, spinoffs, and entirely separate series that showcase Regency romance.

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The Regency Era is marked by the period of time that England was ruled by a regent, as King George was unwell and unfit to rule. This period is also marked by a unique aesthetic shift in terms of fashion, which sets the stage for a certain kind of romance to take place.

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

The cast of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies poses

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies takes Jane Austen's beloved romance and asks the all-important question of "what if there was a zombie apocalypse while all of this was going on?" The answer is female empowerment via undead slaying in a movie that is both funny and sort of a mess.

Instead of being a simple shady character, Wickham is a zombie masquerading as a man. The rest of the plot from the original story is there, more or less, but has been infused with action and comedy.

Becoming Jane

Becoming Jane is a Regency Era romance about the inventor of the subgenre herself, Jane Austen. Anne Hathaway plays Jane, while James McAvoy plays her love interest Thomas Lefroy. Her financial situation prevents them from marrying, as she has little in the way of a dowry, being the daughter of a poor man.

They almost elope, but Jane refuses to let their marriage come between him and his family, who depend on him financially. The film received mixed reviews, but Hathaway and McAvoy's performances were a point of praise. Some nitpicked the historical accuracy of the film, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

Death Comes To Pemberley

Death Comes to Pemberley picks up six years after the events of Pride and Prejudice and once again follows Elizabeth and Darcy, now a married couple. When Elizabeth's sister Lydia and her husband George Wickham come to visit, Wickham argues with a man who winds up dead.

This limited series is more of a murder mystery than a romance, but it takes place in the Regency Era and follows one of the most beloved couples of all time. It takes what people love about the story and characters it's based on and places all of it in the mystery genre for an enjoyable result.

Mansfield Park (1999)

This Jane Austen adaptation follows Fanny Price as she grows up with her cousins because her parents are unable to provide for her. She's in love with her cousin, Edmund, but his attentions are captured by a visiting woman named Mary Crawford who charms him with her beauty and wit.

Mary's brother Henry takes a liking to Fanny and attempts to get to know her before eventually proposing. Fanny rejects him, still hung up on Edmund. Edmund sees Mary's greed and realizes he loves Fanny, and the two end up together. The film captures the spirit of the novel it's based on, which is perhaps the least exciting of Austen's works, but possibly the most wholesome in terms of its romantic leads.

Northanger Abbey (2007)

Felicity Jones stars as Catherine Morland in this adaptation of Jane Austen's foray into satire. Catherine is a bookworm and a fan of the gothic genre. She's also young and naive about society and the ways of the world she lives in and feels adrift and out of place among the upper-class people she's surrounded by.

She's invited to stay with friends at Northanger Abbey and gets it into her head that the woman of the house was murdered. The truth is far less sinister, leading to plenty of amusing moments between Catherine and the young man of the house. The two form an attachment, and he loves her for who she is.

Persuasion (2007)

Rupert Penry Jones and Sally Hawkins in Persuasion

Here is yet another Jane Austen adaptation, this time starring Sally Hawkins as Anne Elliot. The story begins as she finds herself in the company of a man she was formerly engaged to, but whom she could not marry due to his poor financial state. Eight years later, and he's a wealthy military man, and she is looking to be married.

Her former love is aloof towards her, and she assumes that he will never forgive her for breaking off their engagement. She's wrong in her assumption, as he still loves her. Her apparent engagement to another man spurs him to action, and the two find one another once again.

Sense And Sensibility (1995)

Sisters Elinor and Marianne are left out of their father's inheritance due to their sister-in-law's greed. Because of this, they must move far away from where they've grown up, separating Elinor from Edmund, a young man she'd become attached to.

Meanwhile, her sister Marianne quickly strikes up a romance with John Willoughby, a roughish and dishonest man who ultimately breaks her heart. Edmund returns to Elinor but cannot marry her despite their feelings because he is already engaged. An older man falls in love with Marianne, and she learns to reciprocate his feelings as things work out for Elinor and Edmund.

Bridgerton

Bridgerton is the most recent title to bring a Regency romance to screen, as season one dropped on Netlfix just at the end of 2020. The first season is based on the first book of the Julia Quinn series of romance novels that follow the Bridgerton siblings as they find love.

Daphne Bridgerton, the oldest Bridgerton sister, is on the marriage market and quickly meets Simon, the Duke of Hastings. He's determined not to marry, and she's unimpressed by his attitude. The two cook up a scheme to fool everyone into thinking they're courting, but, of course, they end up falling for each other. It's Austen meets Gossip Girl, and it's as romantic and dramatic and fun as that sounds. Season two should arrive sometime next year and will likely be based on the next novel in the series.

Emma. (2020)

Autumn de Wilde's Emma. is the best adaptation to date of this particular Jane Austen novel. Anya Taylor Joy stars as Emma Woodhouse, a spoiled young woman who Jane Austen herself said that she didn't believe any reader would like.

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Indeed, she is a rather shallow and conceited person, but this adaptation makes her charming and likable despite her flaws. The central romance, which can come across as less than titillating in the novel, is given needed heat by the leads' chemistry. The whole cast is really remarkable, and de Wilde's stylistic approach lends beauty and humor to the story.

Pride And Prejudice (2005)

Perhaps Jane Austen's most famous work is Pride and Prejudice, which is about Elizabeth Bennett, played by Kiera Knightly, a young woman who is of the marrying age in a family of young women. When her sister strikes up a romance with a kind, rich young man named Bingley, Elizabeth comes into contact with a Mr. Darcy, Bingley's best friend whose haughty demeanor sour him to Elizabeth right away.

Darcy is quite taken with Elizabeth, though his manner wouldn't show it, and he manages to offend her so badly with a proposal that it seems the two will ever speak again. Through their time apart, Elizabeth comes to learn more about Darcy, and fate brings them together, humbled and in love.

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