About

Tremendous glamour attaches to the myth of the smugglers of the Georgian era as sturdy independent locals, flouting authority with gallantry and gaiety. But the violent reality was of wholesale corruption, terrorism and murder. These were wild times, and Jeremy Gardiner’s coast, the southwest in particular, was a wild and remote region. Farming, fishing and stone quarrying were hard and dangerous livelihoods, badly paid and insecure. No wonder poor men turned to smuggling tax-free brandy, tobacco and tea.

Local knowledge was essential, whether in choosing secure hides or the safest landing …