AUSTEN-TATIOUS

Nobody dispenses more wit, wisdom and a winning way with romance than the revered British author Jane Austen. Here’s where to swiftly stream the best of her best …

EMMA

Binge, Foxtel, Amazon

A luscious production design effortlessly transports us into the Austen universe. Anya Taylor-Joy does well in the title role, a capriciously meddlesome young matchmaker who will be burning and rebuilding many romantic bridges throughout the busy tale. Each member of an accomplished cast (including Bill Nighy as Emma’s hypochondriac father, and Johnny Flynn her sardonic neighbour) make their presence felt.

LOVE & FRIENDSHIP Stan or Rent

One of the finest Austen adaptations on record. To youngish widow Lady Susan Vernon (a magnificent Kate Beckinsale), a man with money, a title, or both, is something to be manipulated for extended periods of shelter. Or brief moments of pleasure. A whip-smart affair picks up characters and puts them down (and oh, how caustically does Lady Susan put them down) at a remarkably cracking pace for a period-era farce.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE Binge, Foxtel, Netflix

The promising g pairing of Jane Bennet with local landowner Mr Bingley is put into peril when n Bingley’s best bud Mr Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) offers his informed opinion. The move soon puts him at loggerheads with Jane’s younger sister, Lizzie (Keira Knightley). It is the open tension and closeted affection shared between Darcy and Lizzie that ultimately drives this classy, cleverly observed affair.