Ludlow antique dealer's Bronze Age saga
A retired Ludlow antiques dealer has written a trilogy telling the story of a family struggling to survive in the late Bronze Age in the borderland region now known as the Marches.
Called The Teller, the set of books is the work of John Clegg, who was in the antiques business in the south Shropshire town for 30 years.
He had a succession of three antique shops in Ludlow, closing his final premises in Old Street in 2004, and recently wrote a book about his experiences in which he features under the pseudonym John Dodds.
He now lives in Istria, Croatia.
"Although I’m writing from Croatia, I spent most of my life in south Shropshire and part of my heart still resides there," he said.
"Each volume is written in a gripping yarn style, with relevant archaeological facts thrown in, rather than an attempt at creating text books. I’ve often wondered how the long-established Bronze Age society in Britain collapsed so suddenly and central to the saga is an attempt to explain why."
John says to bring the characters to life, he has used fairly contemporary dialogue, although without jarring modern words and phrases.
Writing in his first volume, he says: "The book is a tribute to the likelihood that in coping with everyday matters they were probably fairly similar to ourselves.
"Most generations consider themselves smarter than those preceding but regarding what is currently accepted as scientifically advanced, trendy or the truth, how much will stand the test of time and how would a person cope if plunged into the Bronze Age world?
"Forget being sharp enough to handle cutting edge technology and managing life via mobile phones and the internet – if denied tribal help and expertise, I doubt they would last long."
The Teller is available through Amazon.
