Fact1: William Adamson has returned to Victorian England staying with family of wealthy benefactor, Fact2: William is employed Now dependent upon hospitality of patron to Harold 's specimen collection assisting governess, Fact3: snobbish and spoilt brother takes intense dislike to William because of humble origins, Fact4: Harold insists on naming after brother frustrating William, Fact5: book about colony is published in London
Output: William Adamson Mark Rylance, a brilliant naturalist, has recently returned to Victorian England, staying with the family of his wealthy benefactor, Sir Harold Alabaster Jeremy Kemp. He is penniless after losing all of his possessions in a shipwreck returning from a yearslong expedition to the Amazon. Now dependent upon the hospitality of his patron, William is employed to catalog Sir Harolds specimen collection and teach his younger children the natural sciences, assisting their governess, the unassuming Matty Crompton Kristin Scott Thomas. William quickly becomes enamoured with Sir Harolds eldest daughter, Eugenia Patsy Kensit. Eugenia is softly spoken, anxious, and still mourning the recent death of her fiance. Despite his impoverished circumstances, Eugenia proves receptive to his advances and accepts his proposal of marriage. Although Sir Harold grants his approval, Eugenias snobbish and spoilt brother Edgar Douglas Henshall takes an intense dislike to William because of his humble origins. Soon after the marriage, Eugenia informs William that she is pregnant. She insists on naming the boy Edgar after her brother, frustrating William. Eugenias behaviour alternates between coldness towards William, locking him out of her room at night, and moments of intense sexual passion. Over time the couple has four more children, although William never warms to them. He instead spends much of his time with the Alabaster children and Matty, observing the activity of an ant colony in the forest. Returning via the stables from an excursion, William discovers his brotherinlaw Edgar raping a very young servant girl. Edgar tells William that the girl wanted it, but it is clear the girl is terrified of Edgar. William forms a strong bond with Matty Crompton, who encourages his scientific activities and displays a strong intelligence of her own. They collaborate on a book about the colony, which is successfully published in London. One day, during a hunting excursion, William is summoned back to the house by a servant boy who claims that Eugenia wishes to speak to him. He walks into the bedroom, surprising Eugenia and Edgar while they are engaging in incestuous sex. Eugenia then confesses that she and Edgar had been having sex since they were children and that her fiance committed suicide after discovering this. Eugenia tells William that when it started she was too young to properly understand and kept it secret, but after she became engaged and saw herself through the eyes of her fiance she felt guilty. In tears, Eugenia explains that she tried to stop, but that Edgars will was too strong for her. William realises that he has been used by Edgar to continue practicing incest and that all of the children who bear no resemblance to him are Edgars. Matty reveals her knowledge of the affair to William during a Scrabblelike game by discreetly moving around letter tiles that spell INSECT to INCEST. Meeting in her attic room, she explains that the servants were also aware and it was through their instigation that the secret was exposed to William. Expressing frustration at her life and her dependency on the Alabasters, Matty reveals that she has published her own book on the insects and has bought two tickets for passage aboard a ship bound for the Amazon. William is initially reluctant for them both to go; despite his attraction to Matty, he does not feel that the rain forest is a suitable place for a woman. After she assures him of her strength, and reveals that she loves him, William acquiesces to her plan. Before leaving, William meets with Eugenia one last time and tells her he intends never to return. He also promises to keep her secret, for fear of injuring her ailing father with the news, and hopes she may find a way to live with her grief. The movie ends with William and Matty departing in a coach for Liverpool, eager to begin their new adventure and leave the past behind.