My gateway to period dramas starring white girls was probably Anne of Green Gables, a Canadian classic from 1908 about an irrepressible orphan who dreams of being a writer. I consumed the books and the 1980s Emmy-winning TV series as a kid, and by middle school, I was reading Jane Austen’s Emma. Then came 1995, a legendary year for Austen fans. Clueless, BBC’s Pride and Prejudice,...