A desire to escape "The conventionalities" led to this charming account of a journey by horse and buggy through the Berkshires during the late 19th century. Elizabeth A.H. Sleeper and her beloved mother were summering in South Egremont, Massachusetts, when the older woman impulsively decided to take a spur-of-the-moment road trip. The unconventional trio consisting of Elizabeth ('the Nut-brown Mayde"), her mother ("Madam"), and Bunny Gray, their trust country horse, departed the next morning.
Highlights of their tour included a stop in Pittsfield, where they stayed overnight at a Shaker community; a bumpy wild ride up Mt. Greylock; exhilarating views of expansive vistas; the beauty of Lenox and Stockbridge; and a delightful visit with Mary Hopkins Goodrich, Stockbridge's leading citizen and beautification advocate.
Sleeper originally composed this delightful narrative solely for her mother's enjoyment but published it in 1894 at the request of her friends.
