I agree that the power of the book stems from its factual basis. For me the book served as a springboard into learning of the Sutton Ho dig.
I had a hard time picturing the actual dig and its discovered artifacts as described in the book so I jumped immediately into internet research. Lucky for me the internet exists because the images I found looked nothing like I pictured.
I like the various first person sections - a good choice on the part of the author over that of a single third person narrative. It let me see the characters and events from more than one perspective.
Funny - it never occurred to me that Peggyâs husband might be gay. I just thought of him as older and colder - perhaps regretting a marriage based somewhat on convenience. You guys are right though - his disinterest runs deeper than that for a honeymoon.
Agreed. John Prestonâs sparse writing style didnât really bring to life what the team had found and I had trouble envisioning the ship itself. I didnât get @NJTheatreMOMâs âgoosebumpsâ until I saw the images online:
I donât see the comment about the lumbago as Mrs. Pretty losing it. I think the butler had been sleeping with the governess - we learn about her departure just before this incident. Sheâs needling him.
Did everyone see the actual photos of the dig itself?
I agree. It was just weird scene along with the ghost- like visions, and so much discussion about Miss Prettyâs health, but in the end, I think they were using the bedroom.
^ Great links, @mathmom! The photos of the dig itself are even more fascinating to me than the artifacts.
My mom (now 94) is only a few years younger the characters in Sutton Hoo. In the 1940âs, she had a close friend who married a young man who was gay, although that wasnât verbalized at the time, or even fully understood. As sheltered young people from religious families, I donât think it was even part of their vocabulary. Just like Stuart and Peggy, the couple remained married (and childless) for 20 years, and then divorced. So the Piggott marriage rang true to me; I donât think they were the first, or the last, couple to find themselves in such a situation at that point in our cultural history.
@nottelling, @SouthJerseyChessMom and others have raised good questions above. Iâve incorporated some of those, and added others, to the list below. Iâm trying to channel writers of our previous Discussion GuidesâŠmeaning that the questions may be hit or miss, but at the very least, they might spark an idea or two:
Discussion Questions
The New York Times review of The Dig describes the story as âwitty about the true English vice, which is pointless, pompous snobbery.â Where do you see examples of this in the novel?
The NYT review also observes that ânovels about archaeology are often about finding something repressed.â What have the characters in âThe Digâ unearthed about their own lives?
The same review notes that John Preston writes âwith economical grace.â What were some of your favorite passages or sentences that reflect this gift?
How does Preston connect the impending World War II to the archaeological dig? What thematic similarities do these two events share?
What did you think of Robert and his rather melancholy life among the adults? Is this child a symbol of any particular message that Preston is trying to relay? Was it important that Robert return as an adult in the epilogue? Did this provide necessary closure for the reader?
Was Basil Brown treated fairly by Mrs. Pretty and the museum administrators? Would you have wanted him to respond any differently to his peremptory removal as head of the excavation?
Were you surprised that Mrs. Pretty consulted a spiritualist in an attempt to connect with her late husband? Did this alter your view of her in any way?
On p. 186, Peggy tells Rory the story of the cellist and the nightingales. (You can read about that historical event here, and even listen to the original recording: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35861899). Why did Preston choose to include the story of Beatrice Harrison? What does it say about the connection between art and nature? How are art and nature intertwined at the Sutton Hoo site?
The Dig contains a few historical inaccuracies, freely admitted by John Preston. How important is it that a historical novel stick to the facts? How much freedom should an author be allowed when telling a story based on actual events?
1000 years from now, what do you imagine would be an exciting âtreasure troveâ that archaeologists might discover from 2016?
I love that we have 3 different interpretations of the same passage between Mrs. Pretty and Grateley. Perfect example of how reading a book is a personal experience for the reader. I can see the affair angle now that Iâve reread the passages with that in mind, but Iâm not sure. It is definitely one of the incomplete story lines.
@Mary13, that is an excellent article about Edith Pretty. It didnât mention the typhus, which I read somewhere on my internet travels, just that her pregnancy âleft a mark on her health.â The article also mentions that when her husband fell ill,
This ebb and flow of health seems to be the story line Preston chose to follow.
Mrs. Pretty was grieving the loss of her husband, Frank. She and Frank had talked about digging the big mound. When Basil wanted to start with one of the smaller mounds, she let him, but was disappointed. The excavation was a way of bringing Frank back to her, or at least one of his dreams. The disappointment of not doing it the same way they wanted affected her. She didnât eat well and was sad. On page 19 Mrs. Pretty says
That is telling.
Later, when Basil finally digs the big mound and starts finding artifacts, Mrs. Pretty starts eating better. On page 83 Basil notes that
Way down the list of that fabulous set of photos, finally I found what must have been the first object that Peggy recovered. It was described as being pyramid in shape, which is probably why I remember as that is unusual. It is so intricate and beautiful.
Thinking about the spiritualist scenes, I think the book set us up for something that it really didnât deliver on. Mrs. Prettyâs sections contain lots of dreamlike passages, suggesting some sort of dissociative, fugue-like state. The spiritualist stuff kind of reinforced that feeling. I thought the first section set us up very strongly for her to turn out to be a classic unreliable narrator â in a subtle way, more Nabokov or Henry James in Turn of the Screw than Gillian Flynn.
This really added to my sense of suspense in that first section, but the book didnât deliver on that at all. I realize that would have made this a completely different kind of book, so Iâm not saying he should have followed through with that approach; Iâm just saying that I felt as I was reading that first section that was what he was setting us up for.
In the context of the actual book I thought the spuritualist passages really added to the sense that this was one very lonely woman and it made me feel even more sorry for Robert.
Iâm thinking about Maryâs question about Robert and would love to throw out some thoughts for consideration but it wont be til later tonight.
Robert seemed sad. He needed and wanted attention from the adults around him. His mother was unable to consistently give him what he needed. I was glad he had the relationship with Basil and 2 other workers. It was unfortunate when Basil got irritated with him, as that interaction negatively influenced their relationship. Interestingly, I found an article which mentions a child of the servantâs being a playmate of Roberts. I wonder why Preston felt that needed to be left out the book. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/57/a3300157.shtml
As far as what Preston is trying to relay? Not sure. Perhaps the wealthy child who has everything except enough love.
I was very happy to hear from Robert in the Epilogue. I thought it brought some closure. I still wanted more.
Wow, that article that mentions the servantâs child being a playmate of Robertâs, Caraid. The property was strafed by a German plane, and bombs could be seen dropping not far away. Not so safe at all!!
I agree @nottelling. Preston introduced the spiritual/psychic component and then kind of abandoned us. I was wondering about the medium that Basil came across. It seemed like a big deal when the medium told him,
Basil didnât fight for his job at all. He just let Charles Phillips take over. Why did Preston include it? I also was wondering if it was the same church Mrs. Pretty had visited earlier.
Did anyone think when they give Robert the skate at the end of the book of Rosebud from Citizen Kane? I wanted it to mean more, I remembered when he lost it. But it just seemed like a weird little detail.
I loved that weird little detail. To me it symbolized a connection between the artifacts found in the ship and a recent artifact. We know the story of the lost skate, so no big deal. However, if the mound remained untouched for centuries, the skate might be considered an artifact circa early 1900s.
Thanks for the photo, @mathmom. The pyramid is what Peggy discovered on p. 148: âLying in the palm of my hand was a gold pyramid. It was flattened on top and decorated with what appeared to be tiny pieces of garnet and lapis lazuli.â This is the piece that Stuart puts in his pocket and forgets about.
From Peggyâs chapter, p. 190:
I liked the discovery of the roller skate. I had completely forgotten about it until the moment it reappeared, which may have been the reaction Preston was aiming for. I think the skate is meant to make us wonder about what constitutes âtreasure.â
If the skate had been found on the day Robert lost it, it would have meant nothingâjust a problem solved and a boyâs cherished possession retrieved. But found 25 years later, it becomes a bittersweet symbol of a lost childhood, an emblem for a pre-war world that no longer exists. âIt sits on my desk now as I write this,â says the adult Robert (p. 256)âa treasure with a different kind of value. If found 2,000 years from now, what would the skate then become? An artifact of a long-ago civilization, a valuable museum piece. Time and change have profound effects on the exact same immoveable object, found in the exact same location.
*Edited to add that I saw ignatiusâ post #54 right after I posted. Great minds⊠*
I liked the skate return, too. Now its function seems obvious, but in 2000 years, minus its leather upper, someone might puzzle over what the heck people were doing with those things.
The pyramids are beautiful, exquisitely so. Thank you for the link, mathmom. They were decorative strapmounts. I donât remember reading an explanation of how they worked or what kind of straps they held. Clothing? Tack? How was this established? Questions without a lot of answers! Some functionality of the Sutton Hoo finds is discussed here:
Basil Brownâs encounter with the spiritualist assembly is interesting. I did a quick internet search of Miss Florence Thompson, wondering if she were a real psychic, but I didnât find anything. However, Basilâs visit to the church appears to be based in fact:
I think itâs a happy coincidence that Mrs. Pretty was a believer in spiritualism in real life, because that aspect of the story fits in well with the novelâs examination of how we human beings evolve (or not!) over time, and in particular, how we view our dead. Is burying a king with his belongings in a boat to speed him to the next life any stranger than visiting a medium who will allow you to communicate with your deceased husband? More than 1,300 years after the ship burial, humans at Sutton Hoo (and everywhere else) still yearn to believe in an afterlife, and hope that lost loved ones are comfortable and content in that other world.
I thought the spuritualist passages really added to the sense that this was one very lonely woman and it made me feel even more sorry for Robert.
*