Stone Lands
A Telegraph Best Book of 2025
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
One of the Telegraph's 'Greatest Books of 2025'
'Superb' Telegraph
'There's a real sense of peace and magic in this beautiful book' Daisy Buchanan
'Utterly endearing' Dr James Canton
'A fantastic book for weird walkers and megalith-obsessives alike' Weird Walk
'I was alternately gripped and moved to tears by this brilliant, exquisite memoir. . . I can't recommend it enough' Harriet Evans
Journeying across Britain, from West Penwith and Avebury to the Lake District and Orkney, Stone Lands uncovers the magic and rich history of our incredible prehistoric standing stones. It conveys the delight that lies in tracking them down, as well as the solace these ancient places offer in times of darkness.
A few months after discovering that her beloved husband, Stephen, had incurable cancer, Fiona Robertson began to write this book. A long-time megalith enthusiast, she found the ancient stones resonated with her more profoundly than ever as she faced the prospect of losing him. Set upright thousands of years ago, the megaliths are symbols of endurance and survival, standing in contrast to our ephemeral human lives. Infused with folklore, legend and mystery, they enchant the landscape and bring magic to our modern world.
This enthralling memoir is woven delicately around great grief but is ultimately about embracing life, joy and ancient wonder - a luminous reminder of what it means to exist on this earth.
Stone Lands is beautifully illustrated inside with stunning black and white line drawings by the illustrator and printmaker Philip Harris. Find out more about his work: www.philipharrisillustration.com
'A reminder that the ancient stones can be sources of reassurance and solidity, even in our times of greatest upheaval and loss' Angeline Morrison
'A very, very good read ... this is one to treasure' Blackwell's
Stone Lands is 'assiduously researched, full of anecdotes and makes you look anew at these enduring landmarks' Country Life
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Debut author Robertson searches for meaning among ancient stone megaliths in this meandering memoir-cum-travelogue. After her husband was diagnosed with incurable gallbladder cancer when he turned 50, Robertson found solace in revisiting the standing stone formations across Britain and Ireland that had long captivated the pair. Traveling to 14 sites—alone or with her husband and children—Robertson plays detective, contemplating why civilizations, beginning around 4000 BCE, might expend the energy to build such monuments (were they "the prehistoric equivalent of books, the stones encoded with information and stories?... They could have reminded people that they were part of a community with shared ancestors and myths"). She's also part seeker, harboring vague hopes that the formations will heal her husband. Robertson frames the megaliths as a kind of "symbol of survival" amid "the sound and fury of human existence" in ways that are often affecting. Unfortunately, few other insights emerge, resulting in an overlong narrative that fails to provide much in the way of payoff. Emotional import aside, readers will be left wanting. Illus.
