(gentle music) - What I love about "Miss Austen" is that it's a love story between two sisters.

This show beautifully encapsulates the complexity of sisterhood, but it's not just sisters, these two women, Jane and Cassandra, are best friends, soulmates and the loves of their lives.

- Men sort of come and go and that's not to be dismissive, because they are very important relationships, but Cassy was so influential in Jane's life.

I mean they lived almost like a married couple in the way that they support each other emotionally.

- They are each very different young women.

Cassandra seems to be very solid and stable and practical, and Jane is kind of the maverick and the creative and all of that.

But one would not exist without the other.

Jane needs Cassandra's encouragement and her faith in Jane's ability to be an author.

- They're two women who chose not to marry.

They create a small world for themselves where at least they have a little bit of agency in their lives.

- It's lovely doing something where the love story, it's a platonic sisterly love.

- To really have such a strong focus on sisterhood, you can see it throughout Jane Austen's work that sisters are of real beautiful importance to loads of the characters.

- You are my Lizzie Bennett to the root.

- You flatter me, comparing me to Lizzie Bennett, my dear.

- There's a lot of controversy around Cassandra from sort of Jane Austen fans, because she famously burnt these letters.

- You know, there was this wealth of material that we now don't have.

(Cassandra kisses) - What Gill Hornby, the writer of this book, and Andrea Gibb do, is they sort of explore this reason why she would do that.

- I think there is something worthwhile about the fact that she did it.

We live in a world where we do know everybody's thoughts and feelings about things, and Jane Austen, she's still a bit of an enigma, because of Cassandra, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

- I do not want the world to know of my sadness.

- Cassandra, her main aim is to protect Jane's legacy.

- Given Cassandra's previous support and love for her sister and her belief in her sister's writing, you can only imagine why she felt those letters could not be read and could not be in the public domain.

The sense of loyalty and incredible duty that they have for each other, I think that's what's very special.

- At the end of the day, it's each other that they adore, rely on.

No matter what happens in their lives, they'd always choose each other first.

- It's an ode to sisterhood.

- You and I will always be sisters.

(quill pen scribbles)