The story of a simple weaver in an Olde Englande that's not quite as Merrie as some lore would have us believe. Silas, who has an affliction that would be recognized today as petit mal seizures, is suspected by the other townfolk of being possessed by the devil. Silas is unlucky enough to have a seizure as he sits vigil over a dying church deacon. When he comes out of his state of mental absentia, the church money is missing from the deacon's dresser. Silas is accused of stealing, and in a folk-Christian stab at justice, the church elders cast lots to determine whether or not he's guilty. Naturally, he stands accused, and has no choice but to leave town to start a new life elsewhere. The story that follows is one of bitterness, redemption and eventual reward. Only 4 stars because the happy ending seems to come without a great crisis to precipitate it, but that's purely a literary observation. It's still just a great story. While not as profound as Eliot's Middlemarch, this book is nevertheless full of fresh and pithy observations on human nature that left me saying, "I wish I'd thought of that first." Absolutely worth a read and someday, a re-read.