If this writer were to ask whether food — as a motif in literature — makes writing delicious, she’d expect a coterie of critics to reply with a resounding ‘no’. Food has long departed from the ornamental tinges it was discussed with in choicest circles and fittingly snugged down in symbols of culture, resistance or acceptance, and power. When the focus is on social interaction, a shared meal gains prominence. Jane Austen’s novels captured and often reversed the conventions of a ‘polite’ English society, resting equally on food and winter — her characters found analogous strategies to make winters bearable.

Costumes worn by Jane and Tom in the film, Becoming Jane