The Settlers at Home

On the Isle of Axholme in Lincolnshire, drained marshes become farmland, but the change leaves old fishing and fowling communities angry. Dutch and French families settle on the reclaimed ground during England's civil war and face hostility from their neighbours. Harriet Martineau places the Linacre household within this dispute: Mr Linacre grinds gypsum for use on the farms, while his wife earns money serving visitors at a mineral spring.

This children's novel brings large questions of fairness into practical household life. A later scene finds the Linacres' stone home surrounded by rushing water, while Roger struggles with his own discomfort on a nearby hill. Oliver leaves him bedding and other comforts, even as Roger thinks of taking more belongings from the family. Descriptions of drainage, work and shelter give the story a firm physical setting. Readers interested in historical fiction can follow how kindness and resentment shape relations between people sharing a threatened landscape.