Scunthorpe Pageturners discussion

After he visits the laundry, a woman who runs the cafe warns Furlong about what he has seen there: ‘Tis no affair of mine, you understand, but you know you’d want to watch over what you’d say about what’s there?’. (p. 94) To what extent did the wider community seem to have knowledge of the real goings-on in the laundries? Do you think the villagers were complicit in the crimes?

Definitely. Probably a case of 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch my back' so I'll say nothing about what's going on, if you carry on providing me with a cheap and reliable service. Complicit through fear of getting into trouble with authorities/the community and things being made difficult for them.

Rumours about the poor conditions at the laundry are widely circulated. The normal delivery men would likely see weekly what conditions are like. Furlong 's wife and Mrs Kehoe explicitly state their misgivings. None of the people met in the street acknowledge the girl with no shoes yet they must know she is not his daughter. All the villagers are complicit in the crime.