Description
Book SynopsisHow the sensational discovery of a Viking grave in northern Ontario became a major museum controversy when it was exposed as a hoax.
Trade Review"Douglas Hunter gives voice to a large, international cast of characters – both the supporters who believed a Viking grave had been found in Beardmore in 1931 and the naysayers who warned of a hoax. Eye-witness testimony, expert opinions, hearsay, and more, preserved in an extensive evidentiary record, cast light on the ins and outs and possible motives animating a coup-turned-scandal that threatened professionals' reputations and attracted scrutiny into the 1950s." Barnett Richling, University of Winnipeg, and author of In Twilight and in Dawn: A Biography of Diamond Jenness
"A fascinating story about the alleged discovery of a Viking grave near Beardmore, Ontario, in the 1930s, and the ongoing controversy over its authenticity. Douglas Hunter uses the whole story as an entry point into thinking about disciplinary power, about what stories matter, whose voices count, and to whom." Christopher Dummitt, Trent University and author of Unbuttoned: A History of Mackenzie King's Secret Life
"What makes Beardmore truly intriguing is Hunter's focus on big-picture issues, including toxically deferential academia and the history of museum culture. Hunter describes his focus as being on 'the history of history, or of the ideas in history' - Beardmore is a testament to how that approach, together with a factual retelling of events, can make for a richer reading experience. Hunter has written an excellent book that is engrossing from beginning to end, while also engaging with critical issues that were in play at a time in which Canadian history was very nearly rewritten." Quill & Quire
"Beardmore: The Viking Hoax that Rewrote History could be a Nordic saga; it is a tale of intrigue, power, and conflicts, of heroes and villains. Douglas Hunter has painstakingly examined this hoax, from its soggy origins in a mining claim close to Beardmo
