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How TV’s Sanditon
turned into a game
of Jane Austen I Spy
SERIES STAR: Rose Williams as
Charlotte Heywood in ITV’s SanditonBy Chris Hastings
arts correspondent
SPOTTED: The map of Sanditon,
above, showing the streets named
after famous Austen characters, rightWHEN writer Andrew Davies
announced he was adapting Sandi-
ton, Jane Austen’s last and unfin-
ished novel, into an eight-part
series for the first time, literature
fans were understandably thrilled.
And now, it seems, they have
even more reason to tune in.
Production designer Grant Mont-
gomery, a lifelong Austen fan,
has revealed he has hidden 35
references to her other works
throughout the series for viewers
to play a literary game of I Spy.
He said: ‘It’s a huge love letter
to Jane. I thought it would be really
great to do. It’s meant to be fun
and you are meant to revel in it. It’s
like Jane Austen’s greatest hits.’
One hidden reference is a street
map in the office of town architect
Tom Parker, played by Love Actu-
ally star Kris Marshall, on which
many streets are named after
Austen characters. Darcy Place has
been named after Mr Darcy from
Pride And Prejudice, and Ferrars
Gardens is a reference to Edward
Ferrars from Sense And Sensibility.
Similarly, the town’s bookseller
has been named Austen’s in honour
of the author, while the characters
of Colonel Brandon from Sense
And Sensibility and Charles Bing-ley from Pride And Prejudice have
lent their names to the town’s bar-
bers and butchers respectively.
Another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it
reference includes a copy of Pride
And Prejudice, which has beenstrategically placed on a book-
case. Even more discreet allusions
are perhaps for Austen devotees
only. A party scene in episode six
is filled with apple blossom – a
reference to the apple blossomtrees in Emma. And another epi-
sode shows a mail coach with Lon-
don, Sanditon and Chawton written
on the side. Austen spent the last
eight years of her life in Chawton,
a village in Hampshire.
Montgomery said he was sure
Austen fanatics would approve:
‘The Jane Austen society visited the
set and couldn’t help but laugh at
all the Austen jokes included on
some of the posters in the town.’
The series, which stars Rose
Williams as Charlotte Heywood
and Theo James as Sidney Parker,
continues at 9pm on ITV tonight.ITVSeptember 1 • 2019 The Mail on Sunday^ V1