Scottish actor Macfadyen will appear as the arrogant but eligible Mr Darcy with Knightley as his Elizabeth Bennet.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Spy drama star is 'new Mr Darcy'

At its heart, it is a love story between Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy, an aloof, unmarried wealthy landowner seen by many as having as excessive pride.

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The story, which has been adapted for the cinema or TV at least seven times before, traces the tempestuous relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Spy drama star is 'new Mr Darcy'

Longbourn follows a romance between a newly arrived footman and a housemaid in the Bennet household that runs parallel to the love story between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.

BBC: Pride and Prejudice retold from servants' viewpoint

Set six years after Pride and Prejudice ends, the book features Jane Austen's best-known characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, and combines "classic period drama" with a suspenseful mystery plot.

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