Author sets comic novel in Ditchling village

Dr Rob Magnuson Smith, an English and creative writing lecturer at the University of Exeter has written his second book called Scorper.

The book is billed as a dark comedy about American and English relations – with twitching curtains, severed hands and peculiar sexual practices.

Dr Magnuson Smith explained what inspired him to write the novel.

He said: “I paid a visit to Ditchling a few years ago and have been haunted ever since. The novel evolved into a comedy because the material grew too dark to handle without laughter.”

A spokeswoman for Exeter University said: “The American in the book roams the narrow lanes of Ditchling village looking for his ancestral roots amidst the ghosts of the artist Eric Gill who has an enduring influence on the community. During his time in the dark and macabre rural village he has to be wary of taking a tumble in the graveyard, falling foul of traffic regulations or winning the village quiz.”

Rob Magnuson’s debut novel The Gravedigger won the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Award.