Dear Historian

At this point in her life, septuagenarian Margaret is particular about the things she likes. These include looking out of train windows, graveyards in the rain, an afternoon sherry. But most of all, it is her lifelong subject, the obscure 17th century polymath J.W. Preece, who she has devoted her life to studying. Margaret doesn't like: drawing attention to herself, extravagant behaviour and television. When she meets a young history TV producer, Lucy, they form a tentative bond, despite Margaret's reluctance to be drawn into the media world. Several decades Margaret's junior, heartbroken and unsure of herself, Lucy finds curious new inspiration as she falls under the spell of Margaret's passions.