Jane Austen”s unfinished novel Sanditon is heading to the small screen as an eight-part ITV drama with filming set for the Bristol area.

Austen began the book in 1817 but died that same year after completing just 11 chapters. It centres on the spirited and unconventional Charlotte Heywood and her spiky relationship with the charming Sidney Parker.

The novel takes its name from the fictional seaside town in Sussex in which much of the story is set.

Andrew Davies has written the TV version. Filming will take place in and around Bristol with the production base at The Bottle Yard Studios. Belinda Campbell and Rebecca Eaton executive produce for Red Planet Pictures and Masterpiece respectively. Georgina Lowe is the series producer.

When it was first greenlit, Campbell said of the project: “Andrew Davies” compelling scripts bear all the hallmarks of the biting social commentary and realism that makes Jane Austen one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Sanditon”s themes of class divide, ambition, power play and matters of the heart are as relevant today as they were in the early 19th century.”

Bristol enjoyed a rise of 10% in filming days over the financial 2017-2018 year, with more than 1,140 recorded.

Image: FreeImages.com/Kavitha Shivan.