The Dig

February 22, 2016
The real 1939 excavation of an Anglo-Saxon burial site becomes a moving tale of mortality and the passage of time in Preston’s affecting novel. As war with Germany nears, aging widow Edith Pretty decides to have the mounds on her Suffolk land excavated. Self-taught archaeologist Basil Brown leads the dig, and Edith’s young son, Robbie, is eager to assist. However, as the remains of an enormous ship and elaborate objects are unearthed, word reaches the British Museum, and Cambridge archaeologist Charles Phillips replaces Brown as head of the exploration. Stakes are high for all involved; Mrs. Pretty is realizing a dream shared with her late husband, whom she attempts to contact through a London medium; Brown is determined to finally make something of himself; and newlywed Peggy Piggott, brought in with her husband and erstwhile professor Stuart, finds in her work the fulfillment she’s discovering won’t come from her marriage. Preston is subtle but precise in his characterizations, and meticulous with period detail, weaving in newspaper advertisements and descriptions of Suffolk earth, to occasionally laborious effect. The novel is redeemed by his deep investment in his characters: they in turn become invested in the history of the ship, just as their way of life faces its greatest threat. Agent: Natasha Fairweather, United Agents.

Starred review from February 1, 2016
A historical novel that looks at the foibles and emotions of people involved in an archaeological dig on the grounds of a Suffolk, England, estate in 1939. When Edith Pretty wants to know what lies beneath the earthen mounds on her property, she hires Basil Brown, a soil expert recommended by the local Ipswich Museum. Brown soon realizes he's working on one of the most important finds in England. But word gets out, and all too soon an oversized figure is descending the ladder into Brown's dig. It's Cambridge archaeologist Charles Phillips, bow-tied and bumptious, who bullies his way into control of the site. Cut to a coastal hotel where Stuart and Peggy Piggott are but a few days into their tepid honeymoon ("After breakfast Stuart went for his morning walk") when a telegram from Phillips summons them to the dig. The two archaeologists hasten to Brown's mound and soon come upon gold ornaments and other evidence of a kingly interment that may well "alter our entire understanding of the Dark Ages," Peggy opines. Signs of the approaching war slowly accumulate: trenches dug in Hyde Park; barrage balloons above Suffolk. Using the voices of Edith, Basil, and Peggy, Preston (Kings of the Roundhouse, 2005, etc.) gives different views of the project while working in diversions and digressions: a cave-in that almost kills Basil; Edith's weakness for spiritualists; the unspoken tale behind the untidy bed in an unused guestroom and a servant's sudden departure. There's a bittersweet aside in which one of Edith's nephews and Peggy so quickly warm to each other that romance seems about to bloom amid the artifacts. As homey at times as chamomile tea but spiked with pointed undercurrents, this is a real treat for a reader who can appreciate its quiet pleasures.

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March 15, 2016

Reading this fourth novel by the arts editor of the Sunday Telegraph means you'll never again need to ask, "Sutton who?" This is a lively and informative fictionalized account of the 1939 excavation that unearthed the Anglo-Saxon royal treasure hoard, known as Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk, England. Told by multiple narrators, the story unfolds gradually, revealing its essence, much like, well, a dig. The stately home, Sutton Hoo, on whose grounds the treasure is found, is overseen by an older widow with a young son, whose scampering about lends a bit of lightheartedness to the proceedings. There's also an efficient butler tidying up the place. The excavation is initially undertaken by an amateur archaeologist living in the area. This being prewar Britain, however, once the importance of the cache is recognized, class and power rear their influential heads, and the locals get elbowed aside by the big boys from Cambridge and the British Museum. The site itself, its multicolored sands and clays and levels, is one of the major characters. VERDICT With its sense of a magical land, awareness of class concerns, and unrelenting understatement and reticence, this tale is as English as a picnic by the side of the road in a light drizzle. As Downton Abbey sinks into the sunset, bereft Abbots might find some consolation here, and, added depth, naturally.--Bob Lunn, Kansas City, MO

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016
Mrs. Pretty suspected something might be buried in the mysterious mounds on her British farm. In 1939, with the outbreak of WWII looming, she hired a freelance archaeologist to begin excavations at Sutton Hoo House. He uncovered the first evidence of a significant treasure trove that would rewrite the history of the Dark Ages. This fictionalized account of the events surrounding that dig is told from the different perspectives of several characters involved. The remarkable discovery is chronicled from before the first shovel hits soil, through an inquest to determine who rightfully owns the findings, and including many clashes over the proper treatment of the site and who should be conducting the work. The multiple narrators, with their characteristically British devotion to composure, leave some of their reactions as unknowable as the motivations of the men who buried a ship at Sutton Hoo centuries ago, but even so, The Dig offers both a vividly reimagined slice of history and a tantalizing rumination on what remains after we cease to exist.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)