Felicity Jones’ ‘Faithful and Perfectly Cast’ Jane Austen Adaptation Is Coming to ITVX — And Fans Call It One of the Best

Jane Austen fans looking for their next period-drama obsession have an acclaimed adaptation heading to ITVX this September.

The 2007 television film Northanger Abbey, starring Felicity Jones as the imaginative young heroine Catherine Morland, will arrive on the streaming service on September 24.

Adapted from Austen’s beloved 1817 novel, the drama mixes romance, social satire and Gothic intrigue while following a teenager whose fascination with sensational novels begins to blur the boundary between fiction and reality.

Nearly two decades after its original release, the film remains a favorite among Austen devotees, with viewers praising everything from its faithfulness to the novel to the chemistry between Jones and JJ Feild.

Felicity Jones leads a very different kind of Austen romance

Long before her Oscar-nominated performance in The Theory of Everything, Jones took on the role of Catherine Morland, a sheltered and spirited 17-year-old whose imagination has been heavily influenced by the Gothic novels she loves.

Catherine leaves her quiet country home and enters the fashionable social world of Bath, where romance, friendship and social ambition suddenly become part of her life.

But Catherine is no Elizabeth Bennet.

She is young, inexperienced and prone to viewing the people and places around her through the dramatic lens of the stories she reads.

That becomes increasingly important when she meets two very different men.

There is John Thorpe, played by William Beck, who is confident, jealous and determined to attract Catherine’s attention.

Then there is Henry Tilney, played by JJ Feild, whose gentler and more sincere personality draws Catherine toward him.

A trip to Northanger Abbey changes everything

Catherine initially treats both men as friends, despite the influence of her mischievous new companion Isabella Thorpe.

But her relationship with Henry begins to deepen when his father, General Tilney, invites her to stay at the imposing Northanger Abbey.

For a young woman obsessed with Gothic fiction, the setting is almost irresistible.

Catherine’s imagination begins running ahead of reality as the abbey’s atmosphere feeds her fascination with sinister secrets, mysterious events and the kind of villains she has encountered repeatedly in novels.

Austen uses Catherine’s increasingly elaborate suspicions to play with the conventions of Gothic fiction while simultaneously telling a story about growing up.

The result is both a romance and a coming-of-age story in which Catherine gradually learns that real people and relationships cannot always be understood through the dramatic rules of her favorite books.

The cast became even more impressive with time

Jones is surrounded by performers who would go on to become familiar faces across British and international film and television.

JJ Feild plays Henry Tilney, while William Beck appears as John Thorpe.

Carey Mulligan takes on the role of Isabella, Catherine’s charismatic new friend whose influence becomes an important part of her experiences in Bath.

Liam Cunningham, later widely recognized for playing Davos Seaworth in Game of Thrones, portrays the formidable General Tilney.

The casting has remained one of the adaptation’s most frequently praised elements, particularly the pairing of Jones and Feild as Catherine and Henry.

Viewers still praise Felicity Jones and JJ Feild

Despite originally airing in 2007, Northanger Abbey has continued to attract enthusiastic responses from Austen fans.

Some viewers have described it as one of the strongest television adaptations of a classic novel, while others have praised its ability to make Austen’s story feel lively without losing the qualities that made the original work endure.

One viewer called the adaptation “thrilling and bang-up-to-date.”

Another singled out its two leads, saying JJ Feild and Felicity Jones seemed “tailor made” for their roles.

The film has also been described by admirers as “excellent,” “faithful” and “perfectly cast.”

‘Northanger Abbey’ offers something different from Austen’s biggest romances

While Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility frequently dominate conversations about Jane Austen adaptations, Northanger Abbey has its own distinctive appeal.

Its heroine isn’t simply navigating romance and restrictive social expectations.

Catherine is also learning how to distinguish imagination from experience.

Austen’s affection for novels is combined with a playful satire of the more sensational Gothic fiction popular during the period. Catherine loves those stories so intensely that she begins expecting real life to provide the same secrets, villains and dramatic revelations.

That mixture gives Northanger Abbey a lighter and occasionally stranger quality than some of Austen’s better-known stories.

Beneath the humor, however, remains a recognizable Austen exploration of love, status, friendship and the uncomfortable journey from youthful certainty toward maturity.

When to watch ‘Northanger Abbey’ on ITVX

Viewers will have another opportunity to discover — or revisit — the adaptation when Northanger Abbey arrives on ITVX on September 24.

With Felicity Jones and JJ Feild leading a cast that also includes Carey Mulligan and Liam Cunningham, the 2007 drama has accumulated an impressive legacy since it first appeared on television.

For longtime Austen devotees, it offers another chance to return to one of the author’s most playful stories.

And for anyone who has somehow missed it over the past two decades, its arrival on ITVX could be the perfect excuse to finally discover why so many viewers still consider Jones and Feild an ideal Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney.