Mansfield Park

Jane Austen's fourth novel is still an A-level favourite in schools, but it's rarely a hit with students, who struggle with its turgid prose and oddly unlikeable characters. Arty Canadian director Patricia Rozema has done a good job of dragging Austen's most serious work into the 21st century while keeping its integrity intact. She has brought out the background of slavery from between the novel's lines and emphasised the youth and burgeoning sexuality of the main characters. Her adaptation ditches the book's self-righteous, drippy Fanny and makes her a writer forged from elements of Austen's own letters. It's well-researched, funny and profound stuff.

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