Jane Austen Society of North America, Southwest Region

 

Lady Susan

Adaptations

The first-ever film adaptation of Lady Susan took shape as Love and Friendship — borrowing the name (with corrected spelling) of an unrelated work from Austen’s Juvenilia — in Whit Stillman’s faithful version, released in 2016.

Left column, from top: Chloë Sevigny (Alicia Johnson) and Kate Beckinsale (Lady Susan Vernon) in Whit Stillman’s 2016 film; Tom Bennett (Sir James Martin); Emma Greenwell (Catherine DeCourcy Vernon) and Xavier Samuel (Reginald DeCourcy); Stephen Fry (Mr. Johnson)

Middle column, from top: Jemma Redgrave (Lady DeCourcy), Morfydd Clark (Frederica Vernon), Xavier Samuel (Reginald DeCourcy), James Fleet (Sir Reginald DeCourcy) and Emma Greenwell (Catherine Vernon); Kate Beckinsale and Xavier Samuel; Chloë Sevigny (Alicia Johnson) and Kate Beckinsale (Lady Susan); Emma Greenwell and Kate Beckinsale; Justin Edwards (Charles Vernon)

Right column, from top: Morfydd Clark (Frederica Vernon); Kate Beckinsale and Tom Bennett (Sir James Martin); Beckinsale; Xavier Samuel (Reginald DeCourcy), Stephen Fry (Mr. Johnson) and Jenn Murray (Lady Lucy Manwaring); Lochlann O’Mearáin (Lord Manwaring)

Traditional Adaptations

Love and Friendship (2016)

The first film adaptation of Lady Susan, this theatrical release marked a return to the Austen-verse for star Kate Beckinsale — who played the lead in a 1996 production of Emma in a 1996 production — and for filmmaker Whit Stillman, whose 1990 film Metropolitan is widely considered a loose adaptation of Mansfield Park.

Westerly Films
Producer: Whit Stillman
Director: Whit Stillman
Screenplay: Whit Stillman

Lead cast:
Kate Beckinsale (Lady Susan Vernon)
Xavier Samuel (Reginald DeCourcy)
Morfydd Clark (Frederica Vernon)
Chloë Sevigny (Alicia Johnson)
Emma Greenwell (Catherine DeCourcy Vernon)
Justin Edwards (Charles Vernon)
Stephen Fry (Mr. Johnson)
Tom Bennett (Sir James Martin)
James Fleet (Sir Reginald DeCourcy)
Jemma Redgrave (Lady DeCourcy)
Lochlann O’Mearáin (Lord Manwaring)
Jenn Murray (Lady Lucy Manwaring)

Love and Friendship IMDB page
Love and Friendship official trailer

Whit Stillman interview from The New Yorker

Film Locations

Churchill

Russborough House

Russborough House in County Wicklow, Ireland, served as the exterior for two residences in Love and Friendship, including Churchill, the residence of Charles and Catherine Vernon.

Howth Castle

Howth Castle in County Dublic, Ireland, also served as an exterior for Churchill.

London Scene

Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin served as a London scene exterior in Love and Friendship.

Chloë Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale in front of Dublin’s Royal Hospital Kilmainham for a scene from Love and Friendship.

 

Interiors

Newbridge House in County Dublin provided some of the interior shots used in Love and Friendship.

Newbridge House in County Dublin provided some of the interior shots used in Love and Friendship.

Newbridge House in County Dublin provided some of the interior shots used in Love and Friendship.

Newbridge House in County Dublin provided some of the interior shots used in Love and Friendship.

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