The Teller, Paperback

The Teller is the story of a family struggling to survive in the late bronze age in an area now known as the Welsh Marches. The saga is related to a tribe in the mid-iron age by an itinerant story teller and describes how their ancestors coped with conditions existing then and how circumstances forced a quest on two sons of the principal family in the tale. All descriptions of clothing, weaponry, tools, animals, transport, food, drink, dwellings, and prevailing climate are based on what is presently archaeologically accepted and what is known regarding living conditions in Britain at the time. In order to bring the characters to life, a fairly contemporary dialogue is used. Of course there is no way of knowing how they really talked in those far off times and so no attempt has been made to simulate it. In fact the book is a tribute to the likelihood that intellectually, in everyday matters, they were probably pretty similar to ourselves. The inspiration for such a portrayal came when watching a programme about life in Papua New Guinea. A tribesman bedecked in paint and feathers stepped out of the stone age to board a light aircraft, valley hopping to nearby villages. His manner was completely matter-of-fact and the quip he came out with was subtitled. I smiled to myself and thought, 'That's just what one of the locals in Shropshire might have said.' With utmost respect to my friends in Shropshire I hasten to add.