A former Stroud College lecturer has published his debut novel after finally pursuing an ambition he had carried throughout his working life.
John Treweek spent much of his career in further education at Stroud College, where he first worked as a lecturer before taking responsibility for the college’s Adult Education programme across the south of the county.
He said he had greatly enjoyed working in Stroud, but writing fiction had remained a long-term goal. That ambition was put on hold while he worked, and he began writing novels after retiring.
A story spanning Scotland and Italy
Treweek’s first novel, Secrets of the Scrolls, is set in Scotland and Italy. It follows Jeannie, a young archaeologist whose personal history becomes intertwined with a mystery stretching from her Scottish ancestry to an archaeological excavation in Italy.
While she is still at school, Jeannie discovers that she has a Native North American great-great-grandmother. A social history project helps her investigate her Scottish family background, but reveals almost nothing about the mysterious ancestor.
Years later, Jeannie is working at a villa being excavated in the Bay of Naples when she learns about a hidden collection of scrolls. They were written by a slave-scribe, and the story behind their creation and concealment leads Jeannie to imagine that their author could represent people whose lives and voices have gone largely unrecorded—including her own great-great-grandmother.
Archaeology, mystery and romance
After obtaining and reading the scrolls, Jeannie travels to Rome to try to find the slave-scribe. She discovers that he escaped and lived there as a free man.
The novel combines its historical and archaeological elements with a murder mystery and a developing relationship. Treweek has indicated that the plot contains more than the basic outline, while avoiding details that would reveal the ending.
“There’s a bit more to it than that,” said John. “There’s a slow-to-ignite romance and a murder mystery, but to say more would be a spoiler.”
Treweek said: “I began there as a lecturer and later looked after the Adult Education programme the college provided across the south of the county.” He added: “I really enjoyed working in Stroud, though it was always my ambition to write novels and this had to wait until I retired.”
Secrets of the Scrolls is available from Borderless Books.
