Joan, the Curate

Set just after the 1748 peace, the wild marshes of Kent and the craggy Sussex cliffs are buzzing with the law‑less trade of smugglers and wreckers. A government cavalry and a sharp‑minded revenue cutter are dispatched to curb the thievery, and the coast hums with tension. In the modest Hurst Parsonage, the kindly Parson Langney balances his love of fox‑hunting and good wine with a past as a surgeon, while his daughter Joan—quick, compassionate, and ever‑ready with a kit of 18th‑century medicines—keeps the village’s health in check.

When a rain‑sodden sailor bursts in, clutching a wounded comrade and pleading for aid, the pair are thrust into a night of urgent duty. Joan’s skillful hands and the parson’s improvised bravery set the stage for a daring trek across treacherous marshland, where duty, danger, and the rugged beauty of the coast collide. Listeners will feel the wind‑howling cliffs and the pulse of a world where law and lawlessness meet at the edge of the sea.