Author: Mary Webb
Born at the time of Waterloo in the wild country of Shropshire, Prue Sarn is a free spirit cursed with a hare lip - her 'precious bane'. The superstitious townspeople titter behind their fans, uncertain what to make of her, but Prue takes comfort in her love for the remote countryside of her birth and her passionate - if seemingly hopeless - love for Kester Woodseaves, the weaver. How Woodseaves finally discerns the true beauty of gentle Prudence is set against the tragic drama of her ambitious brother Gideon, a driven man who spurns that harmony with the natural world which his sister has always nurtured.
