Sanditon Season 3

Reviewed by Brenda S. Cox

“I think a girl can be whatever she chooses to be.” —Sanditon, season 3

I enjoyed the third and final season of Sanditon, now available through PBS Masterpiece Theater (six episodes). (Some spoilers here, sorry.)

As you probably know, the television version of Sanditon went far afield from Jane Austen’s incomplete novel. The twelve chapters Austen wrote vaguely form the first half hour or so of the series. Andrew Davies then sent the story spinning off into some very different directions than Austen would likely have gone.

Seasons One and Two

The first season makes a couple of characters (Edward and Clara) far more evil than Austen showed them in her fragment, and includes more sex and nudity than many watchers (including myself) were comfortable with, and certainly more than Austen herself would have approved! Some rather unlikely events include Charlotte going to London alone to try to make a rescue. But worst of all, to the outrage of many Austen fans, season one did not end happily. The hero marries someone else besides the heroine. One romance ends happily, but not the central one.  There is redemption, however, for one abused character. And rescue for another.

After some delay, a second season emerged, cleaner this time. In it, Edward and Clara conspire in wickedness. Charlotte’s new budding romance (her third, actually) ends disastrously. 

Miss Lambe

Miss Georgiana Lambe, the only identifiably black character in Austen’s writings, goes through many adventures in all three seasons. She is a rich heiress, daughter of a plantation honor and a slave (there actually were such women, accepted in English society). Running away, being sold and abducted, facing racism, abuse, and attacks, Miss Lambe struggles to find her way in English society. In the third season, she has to go to court. She is reviled and slandered, in order to defend her inheritance. We feel with her, a beautiful, lovable person, as she seeks her heart’s desires.

Season Three

In the third season, including six episodes, I count no less than ten potential romances (some between the same person and more than one potential spouse). One, by the way, is a same-sex couple. (It is pointed out that in this time period, legally, such a relationship might end at the gallows. There were a huge number of capital crimes in Austen’s England.) Several of the ten romances are actual engagements, which may or may not be fulfilled. That web is pretty much untangled in the final episode.

One interesting thread is Sir Edward Denham seeking to show Lady Denham that he has reformed his life, so that she will provide him with an income. She hires a doctor, who sprays him with water to somehow clean out his wicked inclinations. The local clergyman, a singularly self-righteous and judgmental man, also tries to straighten Sir Edward out. He gives him odd jobs to do around the church, and presumably preaches at him. This clergyman gives a very negative picture of the church of the time, worse than reality, in most cases. He and his sister strike me as more Victorian than Regency.

Both the doctor and the clergyman boast of their success in reforming Sir Edward.

Sir Edward, though, yields to temptation–but (spoiler alert) he does not follow through, repenting at the last minute and confessing his evil intentions. This change of heart, and his changed attitude toward Lady Denham herself, convinces her of his true repentance and transformation. The reward she offers him is a surprise, though. It really doesn’t seem appropriate, but for the time, it is unfortunately plausible (see episode 6). 

If you made it through season one (possibly fast-forwarding the worst scenes), you will probably enjoy seasons two and three. 

The Book

Now, for those of you who want an experience much closer to what Austen intended–you can get a great completion of Austen’s original 11 chapters. I still have a tattered, much-loved copy of this version (published 1975), which is again available on Amazon in print and Kindle, even on Kindle Unlimited. It’s entitled Sanditon, by Jane Austen and Another Lady. In this version, Sydney Parker is the hero he was intended to be and Sir Edward Denham is the misguided buffoon Austen presents in her fragment. Miss Lambe and Arthur Parker (as well as Arthur’s comic sisters) are simply delightful (as they are to some extent in the TV series). So, sure, watch the TV show for fun, but if you want something much closer to Jane Austen, I recommend this completion (it’s also a lot of fun!). 

What do you think would have to happen to an evil man, as Sir Edward Denham is presented in the TV version of Sanditon, to make him become a better person? If you’ve seen season 3, did you find his transformation credible? What were your favorite, and least favorite, parts of the series?

For a more detailed review of Sanditon season 3, see “Well, it’s finally over.” It includes a lot more spoilers than mine, though. 🙂