The Mildenhall Treasure

Steadman, Ralph

ISBN 10: 0224060171 / ISBN 13: 9780224060172

Published by Jonathan Cape (Children), 1999

Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # wbs2777894361

Synopsis:

In 1946, when he was making a living by writing fiction for American magazines, Roald Dahl wrote a true story called THE MILDENHALL TREASURE. It tells how Gordon Butcher, a Suffolk ploughman, uncovered the greatest treasure ever found in the British Isles, a horde of Roman silver of unparalled beauty and value. And how, not appreciating what he had discovered, he was cheated out of the fortune that should have been his. A savage parable of innocence and greed, THE MILDENHALL TREASURE is now republished, superbly illustrated by Ralph Steadman.

Review: The (true) story of the Mildenhall Treasure, first written by Roald Dahl for an American magazine in the 1940s and now republished here, is deceptively simple: Gordon Butcher, a ploughman, discovers a horde of Roman silver while working. He is deceived by Ford, the man who hired him, into handing it over, meaning that he loses his right, under the ancient laws of treasure trove, to the market value of the find. Eventually, though not until several years later, the stash is discovered at Ford's home and taken to the British Museum, where it still resides today. End of story. Only, of course, when told by Dahl's nimble nib, nothing is ever quite straightforward, and by dint of a turn of phrase here, a suggestion of something unsaid there, it is transformed into a parable that bites back. It may not be a tale of the unexpected but it is actually the better for it. The text is enhanced by Ralph Steadman's "pastoral Gonzo" illustrations, which are drawn, painted and montaged in his thrillingly recognisable style. Where Dahl holds the narrative in a muscular grip, always the master of exclusion, Steadman, never one to shirk getting his hands dirty, provides a full and splattery texture to the Suffolk countryside and its ravaging weather, progressing from russet browns to a palette of rich blues and greens as he feasts rapaciously off the Roman plates. Ironically, Butcher would not have found the treasure had he not dug so deep; that he did has provided an irresistibly rich furrow for two master craftsmen to plough, and the result is a wonderfully magical and unexpected treat, heady with the intoxication that arises when the extraordinary glances the ordinary. Buried treasure, indeed. --David Vincent

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Mildenhall Treasure
Publisher: Jonathan Cape (Children)
Publication Date: 1999
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good