Sources of Inspiration
The theme of the novel was suggested to Wilson by archeological disputes, notably the Piltdown man hoax (of 1908-1912) and an accusation that the Elgin marbles had been mishandled by the British Museum, later substantiated. The book alludes to the Sutton Hoo ship-burial discovery of 1939, in a country-house setting near Woodbridge, Suffolk. The Melpham discovery is similarly set among the 'East Folk' on the east coast of England. Eorpwald (also the name of the Melpham bishop) is in reality the unique Anglo-Saxon name of the successor of Raedwald, who was popularly thought to have been buried in the famous ship. That discovery, essentially a pagan style of burial in which Christian artefacts were included, raised many disputes among academics (as Angus Wilson knew).
Read more about this topic: Anglo-Saxon Attitudes
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