Prelude

A large, seemingly loving family, the Burnells lead an idyllic life, with the children free to play at will, and enough adults on hand to lavish love upon them.

Yet alongside this innocent evocation of childhood bliss, another aspect of the household is delicately and unmistakeably laid bare as Mansfield exposes the true nature of the family.

Pretensions and insecurities rise to the surface in a series of vivid and all too real impressions of domestic life.

The result is an elegant and exquisite rendering of childhood, memory and understanding.