Jane Austen (Olivia Williams) has written many successful novels, which she regards as her children. In return for her creative life, she has decided not to marry, partly based on recommendations from her sister Cassandra (Greta Scacchi) to stay true to her art. Her suitors remain interested years later, despite their own marriages. Rev. Brook Bridges (Hugh Bonneville) and Harris Bigg (Samuel Roukin) are among them. Jane’s mother (Phylidia Law) regrets her daughter’s spinster state as she grows ill at age 40. Then, Jane takes an interest in her niece Fanny Knight (Imogen Poots) and her marriage possibilities.