interview

Q&A with Lionel and Patricia Fanthope, authors of Secrets of the World’s Undiscovered Treasures

Tell us about your book.
The book deals with the various types of treasure – and especially treasure that has not been recovered.  There are chapters on what treasure is, and the different forms it can take; who hid treasure over the centuries and why they needed to hide it; the ancient treasures of Egypt, Ur of the Chaldees, Greece, Rome and China; treasures hidden in Canada and the USA; treasure on Pacific islands; secret societies as guardians of treasure; Templar treasure hidden at Arginy in France; legendary “cursed” treasure and its monstrous “guardians”; the famous Lost Dutchman Gold Mine in the Superstition Mountains; treasures looted by the Nazis and then hidden by them as WW2 drew to a close; helpful hints for contemporary treasure hunters.

Tell us a little about the overarching theme of your work, and why you felt compelled to explore it.
We live in a very, very mysterious universe, and unsolved mysteries of every kind have always fascinated us.  Back in the 1970s when we lived in East Anglia in the UK we devised and delivered a series of lectures for University of Cambridge’s Extra-Mural Board entitled “The Psychology and Sociology of Unexplained Phenomena”.  The overarching theme of all our many books, lectures and TV shows is this element of the unsolved and the anomalous.  We felt compelled to research and explore the mysteries of undiscovered treasures mainly because it is very mysterious.

How did you research your book?
Wherever and whenever possible we like to research everything first hand.  Our chapter on the Oak Island Mystery in Nova Scotia, for example, is based on the many visits we have made to the site.  Our references to the mysterious treasure of Rennes-le-Château are also based on many visits to that mysterious village in SW France.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Research is always the most difficult part of the non-fiction that we write.  It is very important to us to travel to the site and investigate at first hand.  Then when we have discovered everything we can, we arrange it in what seems the most effective and logical order.  The drafting and re-drafting seem a little easier than the research.

What was your first publication?
Co-author Lionel wrote Worlds Without End a short science fiction story for Badger paperbacks of London, England in 1952.

In your own work, which character are you most attached to, and why?
In our sword and sorcery novel The Black Lion our favourite characters are Mark Sable, who is the adventurer hero of the title, and his equally bold and adventurous wife Amana.  There is a very real sense in which we regard them as our alter-egos.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received as a writer?
Put yourself in the reader’s position.  Look at something you’ve written and then ask yourself if it is clear and comprehensible.  If it isn’t – change it.

Describe the most memorable response you’ve received from a reader.
Earlier this year, Ann Hopkins of the TEMS News wrote a review of our book Mysteries and Secrets of Time.  This was full of appreciation of the book – on which we had worked very hard – and her very supportive and helpful comments were very encouraging.  Here’s part of what she says: “The Fanthorpes have provided us with an admirable combination of analysis  of existing theory, engaging examples which raise important questions regarding the nature of time, and attempts to make sense of the evidence.  This is a book which will remain on my bookshelf for many years to come.”

Who did you read as a young adult?
Sherlock Holmes, Leslie Charteris, Edgar Alan Poe and C.S. Lewis.

© 2009 Defining Canada.