Four new films to see this week: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, How to Train Your Dragon, Tornado and Lollipop
A quartet of movies released in the week of June 13th, 2025
Jane Austen
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life director Laura Piani: ‘I didn’t want to do a film about a woman who is saved by a man’
The French director’s Austen-influenced romcom with a clever spin was inspired by a stint working at Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life review: Sparky dialogue and hearty comedy carry this lovely, mischievous film
Laura Piani’s film rises above comparisons not just with Austen’s work and the trad romcom but also with attempts to weave those things together
Aunts fictional and real matter more to us than they may know
In praise of our aunts and women who don’t hold the title, but who have always been there for us
Author Caroline Madden: ‘My luck turned when I created a female protagonist seething with quiet resentment’
The author of The Marriage Vendetta talks about what it takes to get published, her Jane Austen-inspired world record, and a surprisingly funny book
Author Patricia Scanlan: ‘I’m working on an unanticipated project of healing from breast cancer’
The author on new novel City Girls Forever, a key difference between men and women and dealing with a cancer diagnosis
Following the footsteps of Jane Austen in Bath, hotbed of 1800s gossip and novel plots
With its Georgian architecture, Roman baths and Austen-tatious literary history, Bath never breaks character
Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney: Frances Burney and Maria Edgeworth are given their due
Romney vividly communicates her sometimes surprised enjoyment of the works that shaped Austen, finding them in some ways superior to Austen’s own
More sex, please: Bridget Jones, Colin Firth and the astonishing rebranding of Jane Austen
Thirty years ago, one event made Austen more popular than almost any other contemporary or close successor
TV guide: the best new shows to watch, starting tonight
February 2nd-7th: including Amandaland, Miss Austen, and Samantha Mumba’s crack at Eurovision
Novelist Emma Healey: ‘There’s an idea that painting all the roofs in the world white would reduce the global temperature’
The author of Sweat on her plan to save Earth, her least favourite quote, and Colm Tóibín’s shapely writing
Emma review: Agreeably quirky take on Austen shakes the story’s structure a little too vigorously
Theatre: Toni O’Rourke plays Emma with gusto, and Hannah Mamalis is hilarious as Harriet. Despite some narrative overreaching, you’ll probably leave happy
The Abbey has fun with Jane Austen’s Emma: ‘Our production is curious about her libido’
Kate Hamill’s adaptation, starring Toni O’Rourke, explores the psychology of what drives the much-loved protagonist, says director Claire O’Reilly
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices