BBC Two’s Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius returns Monday, June 2nd at 9:00 PM, charting the often-rocky road to literary success. Episode 2 finds Austen at a crossroads, age 27, facing a familiar dilemma: secure a financially stable marriage or pursue her passion for writing. The episode leans into the stark realities of Austen’s time, where creative freedom often came at a steep personal cost.
Tragedy strikes when Austen’s father falls ill and dies, throwing the family into financial turmoil and forcing her to set aside her writing. The Austen women, facing an uncertain future, are eventually given Chawton Cottage by Jane’s brother, Edward. The move proves transformative, providing much-needed stability and—crucially—reawakening Jane’s creative spark. It’s within these walls that she revisits earlier manuscripts, ultimately leading to the publication of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.
This second installment of the three-part series makes clear that Austen’s genius didn’t bloom in a vacuum—it was forged in the crucible of personal loss, familial duty, and a persistent drive to create, even against the odds.
