The feast of Bacchus : $b A study in dramatic atmosphere

On a lazy riverbank in early summer, a punt drifts under a canopy of clouds while the world seems to pause. Maude Juxon, a wealthy stockbroker's wife who has been away from her toddler for months, reclines on pink cushions, half‑asleep, her thoughts drifting between domestic duties and fleeting freedom. When her friend Flora Neill, a sharp‑tongued, fair‑haired newcomer, boards with a mysterious letter, the tranquility shatters into witty repartee and a quietly brewing discontent.

Flora launches a playful yet pointed lesson about asymptotes—lines that approach a curve without ever touching—using it as a metaphor for the way society pinpoints women like Maude. Their conversation, peppered with sarcastic remarks about marriage, motherhood, and the expectations of a London aristocracy, sets a tone that is both light‑hearted and unsettling. As the river rushes past and an impatient owl hoots, listeners are drawn into a world where ordinary chatter hints at deeper currents of rebellion and self‑discovery.