In E.F. Benson's novel 'Thorley Weir', the story begins as Arthur Craddock settles into his first-class carriage on the hottest day of the year, pleased to be leaving the oppressive heat of the city behind. Though he appears to be a large, unfit man of middling years, his keen mind and artist's eye are immediately apparent. As the train moves into the countryside, Craddock becomes enmeshed in the lives of the inhabitants of the titular town, a bucolic community where scandal and secret passions lurk beneath the seemingly tranquil surface.