Digging Up Milton

by Jennifer Wallace

London, 1790: John Milton, one of Britain’s greatest poets, has been dead for over a century. Lizzie Grant, gravedigger, wife and entrepreneur, is very much alive. When Milton’s bones surface at St Giles’ Church in London’s Cripplegate, illiterate yet enterprising Lizzie seizes the opportunity to make her mark on history. But Lizzie hasn't accounted for Milton's power – as a hero, a revolutionary, and a literary genius. Amongst circulating body parts and surrounded by hypocrisy, Lizzie’s dreams start to unravel. In 1790 it seems a lot of people want a piece of Milton. This darkly humorous novel vividly captures the boisterous, bawdy life of the 18th century London streets in a tale of greed, guilt and a paradise lost. * * * ‘Jennifer Wallace is a clear and eloquent writer’ - The Sunday Telegraph * * * Jennifer Wallace grew up in London and Edinburgh and studied Classics and English at Cambridge University. She now teaches English Literature there, specialising in the Romantic poets and in tragic drama. Research for some of her previous books – on Romantic Hellenism and on the archaeological imagination – has led her to follow Byron’s footsteps through the Pindus mountains on the Albanian/Greek border and to swim into a cave in the Belize jungle, in search of the Mayan entrance to the underworld. She has worked as a freelance journalist for British and American publications on stories ranging from Israel-Palestine to tribal India. She has also played double bass in a jazz quartet. Digging Up Milton is Jennifer’s first novel.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

201 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Sue Lyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this first novel. I love novels that take factual information, in this case the finding of the poet Milton's coffin and the despoiling of his corpse to the creation of a narrative around real people. The first person narrative of the real Elizabeth Grant is convincing and cricklegate in London in 1790 is well researched and presented. This was the time of the French Revolution and the fear of it spreading to England. This fear and the possibility of the working man rising up and overthrowing the ruling classes was a very real one at this time and this bubbling undercurrent is present throughout the book. Governments at the time restricted the public's freedom of movement and their exaggerated fear of sedition reminded me of our own government's willingness to curtail our liberty as part of the 'war on terror'. The importance of education and the implications of its lack is another theme of the book. The power of Milton's poetry and its capacity to promote thinking and reflection is another strong thread in the book and how the uneducated are prey to deception and ignorance. The stealing and selling of relics from Milton's body is very believable as such things were commonplace in the preceding centuries and our own time's obsession with the memorabilia of celebrity suggests it is a timeless feature of the human condition. The first person narrative is well done and gives us a credible glimpse into the life of a young working class woman in the 18th century. We know a lot about the aristocracy at this time so this story is a welcome addition. Elizabeth is a strong female character and her life and friendships provide insight into the lives of women at the time. Each chapter begins with short extracts from Paradise Lost and the plot mirrors the book in a clever literary device. I look forward to more such work by this author.

[Renate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming tale based on a true story. I can definitely recommend this one. The old-fashioned language in which it is written made it feel very authentic.

The author was doing research in the British Library and came across an account, written in 1790, of this rather macabre event. Not being able to find out anything more about the "digging up" of the long-dead Milton's bones, she then fleshed out the story herself. It is told through the words of Lizzie, one of the local parish gravediggers, who is a little too enterprising for her own good.

I was persuaded to buy this book after attending a talk by the author at my current favourite bookshop. Money well spent. I got the impression that the author really knows her subject:- the time and place in the London that she is writing about.