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Act 1, Scene 1, Part 1

• In 1809, Thomasina Coverly and her tutor, Septimus, sit at a large table in a room overlooking the expansive gardens of Thomasina's family's estate.

• Septimus reads a poem, "The Couch of Eros," to himself while Thomasina is supposed to be studying mathematics.

• Thomasina tells Septimus that Mrs. Chater, the wife of the man who wrote the poem Septimus is reading, was seen in a carnal embrace with Mr. Noakes, the landscape gardener.

• Jellaby, the butler, arrives with a challenge for Septimus from Chater, the poet.

• Thomasina and Septimus discuss time, and how the creation of disorder, such as the breaking apart of jam in a rice pudding, can only go forward through time until a new order is created, only to be disordered again.

Act 1, Scene 1, Part 2

• Chater bursts in, intent upon speaking to Septimus.

• The confrontation between Septimus and Chater reveals that Septimus was the...

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