A new BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre is in the works, promising to be the most faithful yet.
It is set to be a five-part series, written by playwright and screenwriter Miram Battye, and produced by Working Title.
Ms Battye shared insights into the project during a talk at the Brontë School Rooms on September 27.
Ms Battye said: "It is going to be a limited series, but less limited than perhaps a film adaptation."
'100 percent faithful to the novel'
Each episode will run for an hour, allowing more time to explore the novel’s characters and themes.
Ms Battye said: "I give enough time to feel for every part of the book that you need to feel for and for the characters.
"Some of those are moments that I don't think have been adequately seen on screen."
She described the BBC as "incredibly supportive, warm collaborators" and confirmed that she has written two of the five planned chapters so far.
Ms Battye said: "The unique selling point of the upcoming drama was it was going to be one hundred percent faithful to the novel."
"I want the adaptation to include a huge amount of Charlotte Bronte's dialogue."
Amy Lou Wood as first choice for Jane
The writer revealed that she created the adaptation with actress Amy Lou Wood in mind.
Ms Battye said: "There really wasn't another vision in my head.
"I couldn’t think of anyone else.
"Amy is an actress of kind of quite staggering talent."
Ms Battye reportedly approached her before anyone else was cast.
She said: "I went to the BBC and I said, Amy is the pitch.
"Essentially, it is me and Amy."
Impact of Fennell's Wuthering Heights
Ms Battye also addressed questions about whether there was any pressure to sexualise the adaptation, especially in light of Emerald Fennell’s recent version of Wuthering Heights.
Answering, "No, there’s no pressure.
"I believe that sexuality is a part of the book.
"I've never felt pressured to make anything overt that isn't already there."
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First two episodes in development
The first episode will focus entirely on Jane’s childhood, which Ms Battye described as "almost a third of the book."
She said: "The fist episode is going to be about a ten-year-old girl.
"It's actually not going to be about Amy Lou Woods performance of it."
(Image: T&A)
She also intends to present a more nuanced view of Lowood School.
Ms Battye said: "Occasionally in adaptations it's seen as just a place of privation and sort of horror.
"I’ll debate this, but I also think I'm so interested in the joy at Lowood School.
"The idea that it's the first place a young girl discovers the idea of a home."
Ms Battye first read Jane Eyre at 15 and estimates she has read it "There was a time when I was reading it every year so I’ve clocked in at least a good nine or ten readings."
The BBC recently joined the project as its broadcast financier.
Working Title has a strong history of literary adaptations, including Pride and Prejudice (2005), Emma (2020), and most recently an adaptation of Sense and Sensibility starring Daisy Edgar-Jones.