Becoming Jane - Impact and Legacy

Impact and Legacy

Becoming Jane and the 2008 BBC serial Sense and Sensibility have been credited with "renew interest" in Jane Austen's House Museum in Chawton. According to Robin Bischert, the chief executive of Bath Tourism Plus, Bath, Somerset gained "more than £150,000 worth of free media exposure" in the wake of Becoming Jane and Persuasion, a 2007 television production adapted from another Austen novel. As the city is heavily associated with Austen, the company took advantage of Becoming Jane's release in order to celebrate the author and her writings. In late September 2007, Bath launched the seventh Jane Austen festival, which included a parade of people in Regency costumes, readings, tours, and discussions about the author. In addition, the city offered events such as Tea with Mr. Darcy to mark the release of the Becoming Jane DVD.

The film's production had a positive impact on the Irish economy, as it resulted in a direct expenditure of €7.1 million, providing jobs for 116 crew members and 17 actors, and also offered 1,250 days of work for extras. John O'Donoghue, the country's Minister for Arts Sport and Tourism, visited the set and stated

The Irish economy continues to directly benefit from having major feature films such as Becoming Jane shoot on location here. As well as the direct benefits to the local economy such as job creation and tourism, it is also important to have images of Ireland screened to international audiences around the world. Encouraging feature films to shoot in Ireland remains a major priority for the Irish Government and we hope that the recent changes to Section 481 will mean that Ireland remains a competitive international location for feature film. —Minister for Arts Sport and Tourism John O'Donoghue