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Literary Links with Rampton
Literary Links … with Rampton. I recall sitting in our local pub some considerable number of years ago and noticing a mature couple of visitors enjoying a chat and drink together in the bar. I was intrigued that I somehow knew the man's face, but couldn't immediately identify it. Not long after this somewhat insignificant event I was in Heffers Bookshop in Cambridge to get a signed copy of a new Tom Sharpe book – "Wilt". I then recalled the face I had seen not long before: Tom Sharpe had been in our local! I then remembered where I had seen the "face": on the dust jackets of some of his other books (which I already owned) – the ones set in South Africa (Riotous Assembly and Indecent Exposure) which immediately made me a fan of his hilarious novels. It seemed very strange to me that such a well know author should have visited little old Rampton, but I was aware that he lived near Cambridge. I became more intrigued when I read in his book of a reference to "Oakrington Village College". Thus began my personal interest in local links with Rampton… (Ed).
Samuel Pepys started his diary 350 ago: allegedly on 1st January 1660. His family had relatives in Cottenham – maybe at "Pepys House" – and several authors have recently used Rampton and the Fens nearby as a location in their books. This page will attempt to celebrate those literary links. Rampton Website is most grateful to Sebastian Faulks and Patrick Lennon and their publishers, for their agreement to show extracts from some of their books on this site. I hope that you too, dear reader, will enjoy reading their books. You can visit their websites by clicking on the links below.
Sebastian Faulks' Website
Patrick Lennon's Website Should any reader know of other possible links, please let the editor know. Thank You.
Patrick Lennon Copyright Patrick Lennon/Hodder & Stoughton Local author, Patrick Lennon, refers to Rampton in his book "The Corn Dolls". Patrick tells the Website: Rampton seemed a good location for these Corn Dolls scenes because of the comparative isolation, and the way the characters can stand out against the flat landscape. The presence nearby of the old Norman fort also brings in one of the book's themes - a lingering folk memory of the Norman invasion.
As a Cambridge boy at heart, the Fens remain one of my favourite parts of the world. The three books in the trilogy - Corn Dolls, Steel Witches and Cut Out - all have this area as a setting. 'Patrick's latest book, Cut Out, is a controversial thriller set on a Fenland army base and in Afghanistan, and is published in paperback in Jan 2010.' Patrick will be at Heffers Bookshop on 27th January promoting his new book "Cut Out".
Sebastian Faulks Copyright Sebastian Faulks/Hutchinson Sebastian said (2008): "Rampton suited the geographical requirements of the story. It was near enough to Cambridge and had access to the countryside. I drove around a bit looking for likely candidates and Rampton was the most suitable place. Of course, Engelby is a work of fiction and I feel quite sure that nothing horrid ever happens in Rampton. It looks a charming village and I wish it and all its residents well with their festival".
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