extract from chapter 6

1814: Great bookham

Join Jane and Cassandra for a picnic at the top of Box Hill in Surrey.

The picnic they had brought with them was not extravagant, as they had purposely not wanted to lug anything too heavy up the hill. When they had helped the vicarage party lay everything down on a rug on the grass, the drivers and the guide moved away behind the trees to give them some privacy.

Photo: Sydney Gardens, Bath, during the Jane Austen Festival

The ladies chatted amicably over cold meats and bread rolls, washed down with a selection of fruit and some wine. The exertion of the morning had given them quite an appetite, and the platters were emptied hungrily.

When they had finished eating, Mary Cooke led Cassandra and Jane along one of her favourite pathways. It was lined with holly and bright yellow gorse, and they laughed over how much the lumps of white flint that peeped through the grass resembled teeth.

Author's own photo

On heading back, they could hear Mrs Cooke’s moans even before they saw her. She was evidently out of patience and ready to go back down.

‘What, now?’ asked Jane in surprise when she was told of the plan. She had anticipated being there all afternoon and had packed her sketch pad in preparation.

Photo: Box Hill, Surrey

‘I feel one of my heads coming on,’ complained Mrs Cooke, loudly. ‘And I have a meeting with the relief committee tonight. I must go home and rest because there is no way I can miss it.’

Neither Reverend Cooke nor Mary put up any resistance, and so the party climbed back into their chaises to make their way miserably back down the hill.

Later that evening, Jane vented her frustrations to Cassandra. It was such a shame to miss the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, they agreed, but they both acknowledged that the mood had been lacking. What a pity it was that a picnic that promised so much pleasure should be spoiled by cross moods and disappointment.