THE ELOPEMENT

''It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.''

1820, and the marriage between wealthy widower Sir Edward Knatchbull and Jane Austen''s handsome, dutiful niece Fanny Knight is widely praised as being the most excellent match in the county.

As Sir Edward''s wife, Fanny is expected to apply herself to the raising of his five children with the same dedication she has shown towards her siblings at Godmersham Park. In particular, she pays care to young Mary Knatchbull - the only girl of the family, and the apple of her strict father''s eye.

Poor Mary has hitherto been raised under a cloud of quiet misery. But as the Knight and Knatchbull families merge, she discovers something like fun. The Knight girls are so sweet and the boys .... so very handsome and charming and madly athletic - especially Ned, the eldest and therefore the heir to Godmersham Park.

As Mary approaches her seventeenth birthday, a bond forms between her and Ned Knight, an understanding that leads, on the last day of the year 1825, to Ned declaring his hand. Sir Edward''s outrage is immediate; his refusal unyielding. Ned Knight is his own wife''s brother! The situation is simply unseemly. And besides, he dislikes the fellow. The marriage will never take place.

There appears to be only one solution for Ned and Mary - but can it really involve elopement?