Short timeline

Chapter 1

The novel starts with the dovecote being set on fire, as well as the other fire set by the Beldams. We get the sense that the village is isolated, and Kent serves as the only authority figure. Thirsk burns his hand and the villagers prepare to unjustly blame the Beldams for the fire.

Chapter 2

They go to the place where the fire is (except for Thirsk, who stays to tend to his hand). They physically threaten the Beldams, and even though they know they didn’t eat the doves they blame the fire on them. Mistress Beldam is introduced as dressed beyond her station, and the men are put in the pillory. She spits at Kent.

Chapter 3

Everyone in the village feels shame in the injustice. The men are too eager to get close to Mistress Beldam. We get the sense of their detachment from religion. Kent makes a speech but leaves out the important bits for the harvest next year, giving the sense that something will change. Thirsk makes the mistake of not helping the man in the pillory.

Chapter 4

There is a flashback to when Thirsk first arrives in the village. There is an opportunity for reconciliation with the Beldams. Lizzie Carr is chosen as the Gleaning Queen. There is an image of several future paths for the village.

Chapter 5

Older Beldam dies in the pillory, which Thirsk could have prevented. Jordan arrives at the village.

Chapter 6

Jordan talks of his plans for the village, and the profit he intends to make from the enclosure. He makes it clear that some of the villagers will leave and others will be enslaved in the capitalist system.

Chapter 7

Willowjack has been killed violently, and the idea of Jordan as a threat increases. Jordan suggests that Kent use Willowjack’s body to produce grease. Thirsk shows his willingness to be useful to Jordan.

Chapter 8

Thirsk talks about how to make vellum, and is allowed to work for Quill. Thirsk describes Quill’s maps and their beauty, but also says that they do not capture how long it takes to get something out of the land.

Chapter 9

We find out that Anne Rogers, Kitty Gosse and Lizzie Carr have been ‘arrested’ and are in Jordan’s custody. Brooker Higgs and the Derby twins have left. The villagers blame everything that goes wrong on Mistress Beldam, and they have turned against Thirsk. The villagers want to protest against the women being taken but cannot.

Chapter 10

First flashback is John Carr speaking to Thirsk about the reception at the manor house in their attempt to free the women. He wants to speak inside as he does not want to be seen with Thirsk, who is thought to be in a conspiracy with Quill. The second flashback is about Kent, and what he overhears about Jordan’s intentions and his lack of intervention with the women.

Chapter 11

The groom is jealous and wants to be involved in the torture of the women. There is a meeting with the villagers that Thirsk is not invited to, and he does not reveal his knowledge of the village’s fate to the villagers. The villagers attack the groom and realise that they need to leave. By the end the village is empty, and Thirsk is one of the only people left in the village.

Chapter 12

Jordan shows politeness to Thirsk, and Thirsk agrees to help him with his plan. There is a sense that Kent will never come back.

Chapter 13

Thirsk feeds the horses so they will get sick. The cohort then leave the village, with the women still imprisoned and the groom dying, so Thirsk is left on his own. It is clear that Lizzie Carr has lost her innocence. The thread between Jordan and Kent is described as flimsy. 

Chapter 14

There are now only four people, and Thirsk is extremely isolated. There is a shift in power dynamics, as Thirsk thinks of himself as the ‘master’, and sleeps in Jordan’s bed. Thirsk regrets not leaving with the others and plans to stay only to follow Kent and disrupt the plans for the sheep. He releases Mr Beldam and tries to exert power over him, and gives him things in return for his labour. They plough the land together.

Chapter 15

Thirsk now thinks he has witnesses: Quill, Kitty Gosse, John Carr, Beldams, Kent and Cecily, and they mock his protest against Jordan. He exhibits classism against the Beldams sleeping in the manor and sleeps in Gosse’s bed. He eats mushrooms and there is a flashback to 12 years ago. He frees the animals left.

Chapter 16

Thirsk goes to the manor, expecting to be welcomed by the Beldams but finds everything to be pillaged. Mistress Beldam leaves the stone that she used to kill Willowjack on the mantlepiece. Thirsk then sees that the village is starting to burn down, and sees Mistress Beldam is doing this. They are headed to the marketplace and into a new life. The pillory is cut down. Thirsk discovers Quill's body in the trunk and decides to set fire to the manor house.

Chapter 17

Thirsk reaches the village bounds, and burns Quill’s work, creating the sense that the future is blank. There is a mouse, which acts as a symbol of what he is leaving behind. There is an unclear and ambiguous ending as Thirsk leaves the village.