Doctor Syn, A Tale of the Romney Marsh (Signed copy)

Signed by the author's son, the illustrator, and the publisher: Daniel Thorndike, Emily Goddard, and Liz Skilbeck

Author

Russell Thorndike, illustrated by Emily Goddard, introduction by Daniel Thorndike

Publisher

Romney Bookshop, New Romney, 1998

Doctor Syn, A Tale of the Romney Marsh (Signed copy)

Printing Details

First thus. Paperback. 20 × 12.5cm, [vi] 206pp.

Signed to the title page by Daniel Thorndike (the author's son and writer of the introduction), Emily Goddard (the illustrator), and Liz Skilbeck (possibly the publisher)

Posing as a respectable vicar in Dymchurch at the turn of the 18th century, Dr. Syn is actually the retired pirate Captain Clegg. Clegg, believed hanged in Rye, is no longer being sought by the authorities. However, country life proves too tame for the good "Dr. Syn," and his attention turns to smuggling. He takes on a secret identity, "The Scarecrow," and leads a gang of smugglers known as the Marsh Men. They travel Romney Marsh by night on horseback, sometimes using mounts painted with phosphorus to give them a spectral appearance, spreading legends of supernatural evil and menace. Although a criminal, Syn's appeal is almost Robin Hood-like. He uses his ill-gotten gains to help his parish, and the King's Men sent to ferret out him and his men are hardly a sympathetic lot, even though they represent the forces of law.