"It is wrong to marry for money, but foolish to marry without it!" the author of Pride and Prejudice is oft quoted as saying. But what about Jane Austen's own private love life?

Literary tongues are wagging in London about speculation over 'a secret lover' our 'becoming' Jane may, or may not, have had. Correspondence between family and friends offers tantalising glimpses of a Jane who was flirty, but sharp-tongued, intolerant and commitment-shy.

Jane Austen's letters also raise questions about her dearly-beloved sister's motives in burning the correspondence, and in dissuading her from accepting a proposal of marriage. Could Cassandra have possibly wanted to keep the Jane she depended upon for herself?

The new BBC film  (starring Olivia Williams) focuses sharply upon one small window of 'Aunt Jane's' life - a time when she was beginning to enjoy some recognition for her writing but also perhaps, refecting upon the virtues (or otherwise) of a life 'on the shelf.'

Did Jane wait too late for her own Mr Darcy to show up? As she says to her pretty, romantic niece "the only way to find a man like Mr Darcy is to make him up!"

 There are some (like yours truly) who suspect that even if Mr Darcy had turned up, muscles rippling under a dripping clingy shirt - Miss Austen would have let her head rule her heart and would have let him get away!

For confirmed 'Janeites' who have seen every movie and read every novel about her characters, this new movie may provide a sharper aperitif to cleanse the palate of  the fluffy romances. They should, however, be prepared for a few sour surprises!