AustLit

Adventures of a poor young Belgian peasant woman journeying with her baby to Brussels to be reunited with her husband. The weather is very cold and she misses her coach but is determined to walk there in company with a pedler taking his savings there to retire. They are caught in a snowstorm and take shelter at an inn where he is murdered for the money which she is hiding in her baby's shawls. Maternal love and a little brandy help her to feign ignorance and reach Brussels in safety, surviving a test by one of her hosts disguised as a peasant woman who walks with her. This fits into the 'horror at a murderous inn' genre, with variations. (PB)