The Mildenhall Treasure Book

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 VincentRead More