Webb, Mary: Precious Bane, v1, 13 July 2009.
 

Mary Webb (1881–1927)
Precious Bane (1924)

Set in a Shropshire village, shortly after the Napoleonic Wars, this is the story of Prue Sarn, a girl regarded with suspicion because of a harelip. Her brother, Gideon, a young farmer, is determined to make a fortune, despite her warnings about the dangers of the “precious bane.” His ambitions lead to tragedy. Will Prue ever find happiness?

The title of the story is a quotation from John Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’:

‘Let none admire
That riches grow in Hell; that Soyle may best
Deserve the precious bane.’

The cover is an image of the Shropshire hills.