A novel set in Victorian Sussex.
' They talked about Hannah, and her sinful behaviour, over the washing lines and at the well, in Farley's store and behind the church. They made their plans and it was done with great secrecy.'
Hannah Challen is trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage, shunned by the villagers who regard her as a 'furriner'. Seth Weller, a shepherd on the Downs, has just lost his wife in childbirth. the friendship that develops between them is an innocent one, born out of loneliness.
But the villagers don't see it like that. They think Hannah is an adulteress and express their disapproval in no uncertain terms, tormenting her on every occasion. Their attitude, however, only serves as a catalyst for the very thing they are trying to stop.
The Farthing Mark is a story of love and deceit, hatred, malice and revenge.
