Given the sheer volume of Jane Austen-inspired movies and TV series over the years, it can be startling to remember that the early 19th-century British scribe only wrote six major works, all of which turned an incisive and often satirical eye on the traditions of the upper class.
Though “Pride and Prejudice” remains her best-known novel, “Emma” — whose latest interpretation is out Friday — is a close second.
Here’s a look at some of the top Austen adaptations in recent years, from wryly debonair to the walking dead.
“Pride and Prejudice” (1995)
The mid-’90s were peak Jane Austen years, beginning with the BBC’s miniseries starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, the latter of whom would forever be linked with his role as romantic hero Mr. Darcy — leading to his casting in “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (2001) as . . . Mark Darcy.
“Sense and Sensibility” (1995)
Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson play the Dashwood sisters in Ang Lee’s delightful film, which includes Hugh Grant and an Alan Rickman so heartwarming he might erase your memory of Severus Snape.
“Clueless” (1995)
Yes, it’s not technically Austen, but Amy Heckerling’s ’90s high-school spin on “Emma,” starring Alicia Silverstone as the gossipy but good-hearted Cher, was so indelibly quotable it’s still the definitive “Emma” guide for many.
A pre-Goop Gwyneth Paltrow carried the title role in this straightforward adaptation close on the heels of “Clueless,” and made it distinctive enough to hold its own.
“Pride and Prejudice” (2005)
A decade seemed enough space for another attempt at a definitive “P&P,” and this movie pulled it off with a sweeping, unapologetically romantic-with-a-big-R rendition starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.
“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” (2016)
Because eventually someone had to make the metaphorical monsters of patriarchy and rigid social stratification into literal brain-eating ones.
“Sanditon” (2019)
Adapted from an unfinished book by Austen, this British miniseries (airing on PBS) leans into sexual tension and the author’s critique of slavery, with a strikingly different tone from its predecessors.
