Jessy of Glyn Cuch

The trigger for this story was a book of poems by Robert Burns. It follows the lives of Jessica Gibbon, her daughter Jane, and the hardships experienced by the miners' and their families in the fictitious village, Glyn Cuch, set in south Wales.

The arrival of a sophisticated tutor from London has an unexpected effect on Jane and her family. Conditions in Wales in the late 1800's were extremely difficult, especially for the coal miners, some of whom were as young as eight years old – orphans brought from Ireland to work as pit boys.

During this time Jane married John Thomas. Because most of the mines in Wales were closing, the family believed there was no future in this small village, so the decision was made for Jane and her family to emigrate to Australia.

Jane and John sail to Melbourne with their three children and settle in a bayside suburb. Unbeknown to Jane, her mother had hidden a secret in Robert Burns' book.

Years pass. Jane finds the book of poems amongst her mother's personal possessions, opens it at the poem 'Jessy' and finds the answer to the secret.