Sense and Sensibility (film) 1995, though some of the actors met with Thompson the previous year to help her conceptualise the script. Lee eventually cast all but one of them: Hugh Grant (as Edward Ferrars), Robert Hardy (as Sir John Middleton), Harriet Walter (as Fanny Ferrars Dashwood), Imelda Staunton (as Charlotte Jennings Palmer), and Hugh Laurie (as Mr. Palmer). Amanda Root had also worked with Thompson on the screenplay, but had already committed to star in the 1995 film "Persuasion". Commenting on the casting of Laurie, whom she had known for years, Thompson has said, "There is no one [else] on the planet who
Emma (novel) school for girls in which Harriet Smith is one of the students. She is also a frequent companion to Mr. Woodhouse along with Mrs. Bates. Mr. William Larkins is an employee on the Donwell Abbey estate of Mr. Knightley. He frequently visits the Bateses, bringing them gifts, such as apples, from Mr. Knightley. "Emma" was written after the publication of "Pride and Prejudice" and was submitted to the London publisher John Murray II in the fall of 1815. He offered Austen £450 for this plus the copyrights of "Mansfield Park" and "Sense and Sensibility", which she refused. Instead, she published