Set in early nineteenth century England, it addresses the themes of social reform and freedom of speech in a time of war.

The book's two principal locations are Holly Lane, London, where the Pargeters have a bookshop, and Herringsby on the Suffolk coast, a seaside resort and fishing village.

The bookseller has somewhat radical views and stocks such controversial works as The Rights of Man, which Margaret often feels impelled to hide from customers.

Inspired by the tragedy, Mr. Pargeter writes and distributes a pamphlet called The New Jerusalem in which he describes his vision of an ideal society.

For Time of Trial Hester Burton won the annual Carnegie Medal recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.

In her New York Times review of the novel, Mary Stolz wrote: "When Hester Burton... writes a historical novel, it is not a modern romance with appliqués of research but a sound portrait of the period, presented with unobtrusive scholarship.