'Pride and Prejudice' gets time-travel twist in 'Lost in Austen'

London, Aug 6 : Those who love Elizabeth Bennet's journey in Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' are in for a treat with ITV's latest offering with a modern twist to the classic novel- a time-travelling version of the popular tome.

Named 'Lost In Austen', ITV's take on 'Pride and Prejudice' is billed as an "ingenious reinvention" of the much-loved novel. The new series introduces a new character in the story, Amanda Price, played by Jemima Rooper, who is a modern Londoner with a boring bank job and loses herself in the pages of Pride and Prejudice each night.

The story picks up when she sees the novel's heroine Elizabeth standing in her bathroom, from where a secret doorway leads to the Bennet household and the two ladies end up swapping lives.

So, one would see Elizabeth working as a children's nanny and exploring modern innovations like the internet, while Amanda finds herself in Austen's fictional world.

This disrupts Austen's original plot and the viewers will be in for a surprise when they'll see Jane Bennet marrying the clergyman Mr Collins, Lydia Bennet running off with Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy falling in love with Amanda.

In fact, the series would also assign a Christian name to Mr Bennet, something which Austen never did. So, in the drama he reveals himself to be called Claude.

However, there are scenes that wouldn't go down well with Austen purists: like in one scene Amanda shows the Bennet sisters her newly waxed bikini line and taking Mr Bingley outside for a "snog".

Co-starring in the four-part drama, is Bond girl Gemma Arterton as Elizabeth, Hugh Bonneville as Mr Bennet and Alex Kingston as Mrs Bennet, the film will air on ITV1 in September.

Guy Andrews, the scriptwriter, admitted to "mangling the nation's favourite book in the service of this project" and is braced for criticism.

"People may hate it. Belle-lettrists may orchestrate public disembowelments of all concerned. But Lost In Austen is a good idea and an interesting one, and they're pretty thin on the ground," The Telegraph quoted him, as saying.

ANI