Austen Thrives On British TV

After more than 180 years of academic respectability and steady though modest book sales, Jane Austen has suddenly become the hottest TV and movie property in the U.K. entertainment industry.

Without the promotional hook of a single scene of explicit sex or violence, the BBC’s $9.5 million dramatization of Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” has attracted record audiences for a TV costume drama. The six-part serial, which ended Sunday, averaged about 10 million viewers, with a further 2 million watching the Saturday repeats.

The BBC expects to sell the show to more than 30 territories, and co-producer A&E Network will be broadcasting the series in the United States in January.