"'Brandy for the parson, baccy for the clerk...' We have an image, mostly from movies and novels, of a tall ship riding gently at anchor in a moonlit, secluded bay with the 'Gentleman' cheerfully hauling kegs of brandy and tobacco ashore, then disappearing silently into the night shadows to hide their contraband from the excise men in a dark cave or a secret cellar. But how much of the popular idea is fact and how much is fiction? Smuggling was big business - it still is - but who were these derring-do rebels of the past? Were smugglers regarded as the heroes of a community, or were they resented and feared? How effective were the men who tried to uphold the laws against smuggling?"--Provided by the publisher.