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DEAD MEN'S TEETH
Dead Men's Teeth" is an intriguing anthology that merges the realms of history and fiction. Drawing from historical archives, Jamie Rhodes weaves a series of short stories that bring the past to life with a fresh and imaginative perspective. This collection not only showcases his ability to find the extraordinary in historical documents but also challenges readers to contemplate the complexities of history, ethics, and humanity. Each story, while distinct, contributes to a cohesive exploration of how the past informs our present, inviting readers on a journey through time that is both enlightening and haunting.
A grim but light-hearted adventure tale about a young farm girl recruited to work for a dentist in 1815. Inspired by an original dentist’s advert from the early 1800s, and this post on the British Library’s Untold Lives blog: Smiling with Dead Men’s Teeth.
A dark story about madness and isolation aboard a diseased indenture vessel in 1880. Inspired by an original ship’s surgeon’s report in the British Library archives, and this post on the British Library’s Untold Lives blog: Cholera on the Emigrant Ship ‘Sheila’.
A story exploring religious tolerance using the metaphor of vulture species around a carcass as a young White-Backed Vulture comes of age. Inspired by an image of vultures perched on the rim of a Zoroastrian Tower of Silence in India, and this post on the British Library’s Untold Lives blog: The Tower of Silence, a Zoroastrian Detective Story.
An atmospheric tale of an 18th century school teacher struggling to come to terms with a family tragedy. Inspired by a letter in the British Library’s Bentham collection, and this post on the British Library’s Untold Lives blog: Meet the Benthams: An Extraordinary Georgian Family.
A tale of division, unity, and the efforts of three people trying to build bridges between the European settlers and Native tribes of Newfoundland in the 19th century. Inspired by an original Beothuk language dictionary written in 1819, and this post on the British Library’s Untold Lives blog: Mary March of Newfoundland.
The adventure of two Cornish brothers seeking their fortune in the California gold rush. Inspired by an interview with a Cornish miner upon his return from California in 1860, and this post on the British Library’s Untold Lives blog: Aw How I Ded Long for a Tatie Pasty.
An adventure story of two escaped convicts trying to start new lives in Australia. Inspired by the British Library records of convicts transported during the early years of Australian colonisation, and this post on the British Library’s Untold Lives blog: A Phantom Burglar and the Hulk.
A farcical tale of two drug-addled aristocrats seeking love at the Frost Fair on the frozen river Thames in 1789. Inspired by the memento postcards printed on the Thames between the 17th and 19th centuries, now housed in the British Library archive collections, and this post on the British Library’s Untold Lives blog: Printing on Ice.
A surreal journey through the mind of an unconscious Ignatius Sancho, exploring the worries, fears and desires of the first black man in Britain to own property and vote. Inspired by Ignatius Sancho’s original letters, now housed in the British Library archive collections, and this post on the British Library’s Untold Lives blog: Black Georgians? An ‘Affrican’ in Georgian London.
A strange tale of one servant boy who’s long-absent master returns from India an amputee, bringing with him an exotic menagerie and a beautiful Indian woman. Inspired by Victorian prosthetics and an article about the sinister hobbies of aristocrats with large kitchens. These posts on the British Library’s Untold Lives blog: Victorian Prosthetics, and Ghastly Kitchens.
“In Dead Men’s Teeth and Other Stories Jamie Rhodes has mined and minted gold from the British Library Archives. Inspired by sources as various as a ship’s surgeon’s log, verbatim interviews, diaries or even advertisements for false teeth, Rhodes gives us glimpses into unexpected places, the forgotten corners of history, in stories told with the authentic weirdness of truth; touching, quirky and humane.”
DEAD MEN'S TEETH
OLIVIA HETREED
BAFTA nominated screenwriter of Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Wuthering Heights (2011 film). President of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.
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