Dissenters - Liz Hutchinson

In the 1660s English society experiences religious, social and industrial upheavals. Throughout the land, thousands of Puritan clergy are expelled from their churches and homes if they refuse to conform, and their dissenting congregations suffer repression by the magistrates. Illegal gatherings are reported in the woods at night, raising suspicions of witchcraft and devil-worship.
    In Frome, Somerset, Molly-Ann and her brothers Ben and Nathaniel struggle to make ends meet after their family is impoverished, and the boys are drawn into a smuggling gang. The changing times offer new opportunities – some less reputable than others – and violence is often the first response to those who enforce the law.
    The town’s flourishing woollen industry brings wealth to a few, while attracting many of the rural poor desperate for employment. The rapid growth of the market town allows some to build fortunes, especially the more unscrupulous developers.
    But for others, the threat of poverty, starvation or the gallows is always present . . .