The Roots of Treasure

Summary

This review discusses Jeremy Harte’s Treasures on Earth, arguing that folklore about hidden riches reflects deep desires for transformative wealth and fears of loss across the British Isles. It draws on tales of guarded hoards, doomed treasure hunts, dreams, spirits, beasts, and accidental discoveries—including Murthly’s treasure-guarding black dog—and examines regional patterns such as storms interrupting Welsh quests and golden coffins appearing chiefly in southern England. Although such oral traditions are difficult to date and document, Harte organizes them through recurring local themes and ultimately emphasizes that the people within treasure stories are more compelling than the gold itself.

Highlights

• The standing stone in the Scottish village of Murthly lay undisturbed for thousands of years until, or so the story goes, the local schoolmaster’s sons took gunpowder to it. The boys dislodged the ancient stone to find a black dog sitting atop a treasure chest, just as the old tales had said. They took one look at the dark, terrifying animal and decided that they had better put the stone back and forget about the gold altogether.

Notes

• Can I write and add a note and will it add?

• What if I add a second note?

Source

Author

Mary Hitchman

Publication

The Times Literary Supplement

Date

August 7, 2026

URL

https://www.the-tls.com/regular-features/in-brief/treasures-on-earth-jeremy-harte-book-review-mary-hitchman ↗

Reviewed work

Treasures on Earth by Jeremy Harte