Sunday evening, October 9th, 1216. King John is facing continued civil war and a devastating French invasion; treacherous times. We discover him crossing the tidal marshes of the Fenlands of East Anglia. He is about to lose England’s crown jewels, his gem collection, and sackfuls of silver coins with his image on them: a treasure trove. What happened? What was he doing in that remote and windswept place? Why did he take the crown jewels with him? And why did he die so soon afterwards? Eight hundred years of searches by Fenfolk, academics, newspaper magnates, Victorian eccentrics and even an American research company have found nothing. No golden chalice, no pearl studied casket, no coins. Why? We follow King John at that vulnerable time, day by day, and reveal for the first time some surprising and interesting answers to the many questions posed by the mystery of his lost treasure. AUTHOR: Shirley Charters MA (Cantab), F.R.G.S. F.R.S.A was educated at St. Mary’s School and Newnham College, Cambridge, where she took her degree in Geography, gained a Blue, played county netball and had a wonderful time. Writing and directing documentary films around the world followed, which ended when a script and marriage took her to Fiji for twenty five years. There she wrote for various antipodean and west coast U.S. newspapers and magazines until retirement brought her back to the U.K. where she has had the time to take up again an earlier, undergraduate fascination with King John’s treasure.
16 b/w illustrations