The Shadow of a Crime: A Cumbrian Romance
1885
The Shadow of a Crime: A Cumbrian Romance, published in 1885 by Sir Caine Hall, is set in the rural village of Wythburn, England, during the era of Charles II. The narrative centers on the mysterious death of local tailor Sim Stagg, accused of espionage, and its impact on his daughter Rotha and the young man Ralph Ray, who supports her through the ensuing turmoil. The novel explores themes of justice, innocence, and the moral complexities of human relationships amid the backdrop of local folklore and societal tensions.
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“Yet what was life worth now that he should struggle like this to preserve it?””
— Sir Hall Caine
“But it is possible to kill without drawing blood. We may be murderers and never suspect to the awfulness of our crime. To wither with suspicion, to blast with scorn, to dog with cruel hints, to torture with hard looks- this is to kill without blood. Did you ever think of it? There are worse hangmen than ever stood on the gallows.””
— Sir Hall Caine
“But of what avail was the innocence of the accused in days when an indictment was equal to a conviction!””
— Sir Hall Caine
“Ah! how true it was that conscience was a thousand swords.””
— Sir Hall Caine
“Hidden there”
— Sir Hall Caine
“leave such mistakes for time to set right. And when the truth comes in such a case it comes to some purpose.””
— Sir Hall Caine
“It's ill-luck to serve a bad man,””
— Sir Hall Caine
“when one dies, those who survive ask what he has left behind; the angel who bends above him asks what he has sent before.””
— Sir Hall Caine
“Some offered such rude comfort as their sympathetic hearts but not too fecund intellects could devise,””
— Sir Hall Caine
