Jane Austen to be the latest teenage sensation
Step aside Britney Spears. Movie moguls, television producers and publishers believe this year's teen hit will be the 19th-century "lit girl" Jane Austen.
The life and works of the author, who died a spinster at the age of 41 in 1817, form the basis of no fewer than six forthcoming films and television series, along with plans for new editions of her works, tailored to the teenage market.
A host of young stars, including Billie Piper, best known for her role as Rose Tyler in Doctor Who, James McAvoy, who starred in Channel 4's Shameless, and Anne Hathaway, the star of The Princess Diaries will spearhead the new Austen revival which, unlike previous adaptations, will be aimed at younger viewers.
Bookshops and libraries, anticipating a surge of interest in the author as a result of her exposure on both the big and small screens, are planning major displays of her works. A spokesman for Waterstone's, Britain's biggest bookseller, predicted it would sell more copies of Austen's works than at any time since Colin Firth emerged from a lake during the BBC's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice in 1995, while Penguin said it planned new editions of the author's six best-known works with covers designed to appeal to teenagers.
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The life and works of the author, who died a spinster at the age of 41 in 1817, form the basis of no fewer than six forthcoming films and television series, along with plans for new editions of her works, tailored to the teenage market.
A host of young stars, including Billie Piper, best known for her role as Rose Tyler in Doctor Who, James McAvoy, who starred in Channel 4's Shameless, and Anne Hathaway, the star of The Princess Diaries will spearhead the new Austen revival which, unlike previous adaptations, will be aimed at younger viewers.
Bookshops and libraries, anticipating a surge of interest in the author as a result of her exposure on both the big and small screens, are planning major displays of her works. A spokesman for Waterstone's, Britain's biggest bookseller, predicted it would sell more copies of Austen's works than at any time since Colin Firth emerged from a lake during the BBC's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice in 1995, while Penguin said it planned new editions of the author's six best-known works with covers designed to appeal to teenagers.