disliked Austen's writings but changed her mind when she read Pride and Prejudice after receiving her role as Mrs. Austen. Appearing as Mr. Austen was actor James Cromwell, who viewed his character as "a generous gentleman, well educated and supportive of Jane for the most part. He is bedevilled by his financial circumstances but deeply in love with his wife and sympathetic to her concerns about what will happen to the girls if they don't marry." Joe Anderson portrayed Henry Austen, while Lucy Cohu played the widowed Eliza de Feuillide, the Austens' worldly cousin and Henry's romantic interest. Cohu believed that her character "needs security. She is looking to be safe. She finds that security with Henry as she knows the Austen family." Anna Maxwell Martin appeared as Jane's sister Cassandra. The actress called her character "terribly sensible", noting that she "gets her heart broken. It's very sad. She's the levelling force for Jane Austen, the wild one. She tries to get her back in line, but fails miserably." Becoming Jane also featured Dame Maggie Smith as Lady Gresham, whom Jarrold viewed as possessing "similarities to Lady Catherine De Burgh in Pride and Prejudice, but in this film you get to see her hidden vulnerabilities – the pain of never having had children and her controlling maternal power over Wisley." Costume design Irish costume designer Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh designed the clothing seen in the film. She attempted to create a different style of costumes than had been seen in recent Austen adaptations, and drew inspiration from the fashions of the 1790s, a time period she considered "fascinating" and a "very transitional era in terms of fashion... it was a real challenge to make it work." Ní Mhaoldhomhnaigh attended the Cannes Film Festival in May 2006 but then had to quickly return to the Becoming Jane set to complete the last two days of filming. She later collaborated with Jarrold in the 2008 drama film Brideshead Revisited. For research, Ní Mhaoldhomhnaigh visited museums and art galleries, and also read Austen's letters and novels. She was interested in both the effects of continental fashions on English clothing and the differences between social classes. While she recognised that 1795 "marked the beginning" of the empire waistline trend, Ní Mhaoldhomhnaigh also understood this fashion would have barely been introduced to Austen's circle in the country; rather, the film displayed many costume designs from the