The Keeper of the Stone: Of Saints and Chieftains

The Celtic Cross #1

by Donna Fletcher Crow

1993: Three modern young people listen as the Scottish storyteller spins his tales of adventure, romance, and intrigue. While candles flicker and a Celtic harp sings its accompaniment, the question grips them: Can they find the answer to Scotland’s oldest secret?
563: Young Corban, tending his father’s sheep—stupid creatures that they are—on the back of the island, has no idea how much his life is about to change when he sees the holy men arrive on the beach below him. Columba has led his little band of monks from Ireland, seeking expiation from his great sin. Can he find peace on the beautiful Iona—or must more souls die yet?
The quest is begun: Join Mary, Gareth and Brad as they set forth on an adventure that interrelates past and present and that ultimately teaches them life-changing truths.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Scotland, Christian Fiction

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Donna Fletcher Crow loves to give books away. If you would like a copy of one of her best-selling Lord Danvers Investigates series, go to her website: http://www.DonnaFletcherCrow.com

Donna is the author of 50 books, mostly novels dealing with British history. The award-winning GLASTONBURY, The Novel of Christian England is her best-known work, an Arthurian grail search epic covering 15 centuries of English history.
Donna authors 3 mystery series: The best-selling Lord Danvers Investigates Vitorian true-crime series; The Monastery Murders; and The Elizabeth and Richard Literary Suspense.

Donna and her husband have 4 adult children and 14 grandchildren. She is an inveterate researcher and an enthusiastic gardener. You can see pictures of her research trips and her garden, learn more about her books, subscribe to her monthly newsletter, and read her blog at: www.DonnaFletcherCrow.com

Reviews

[LeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Keeper of the Stone is an exciting and poetic account of Saint Columba's coming to Iona. The “pillow of penance” he brings from Ireland after instigating a battle that killed thousands was broken off from Ireland’s famous coronation stone, the Lia Fáil. This story of bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ back to Scotland and the conversion of the fierce Picti tribes reads like a great adventure in the wilds beyond Hadrian's wall. The Druids don't want him there and the confrontation is reminiscent of the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel.

Columba’s faith leads him to take huge risks and see God act in powerful ways. I loved the bits of Celtic liturgy that slip in. The writing style is formal and poetic like a tale told by a bard as, indeed, the story that frames it has it. Three young adults from the 1990s are on a quest. Brad is researching the origins of the Stone of Scone, Scotland’s own coronation stone, which might be Columba’s stone pillow. Mary is searching for a real and sustaining faith although she doesn’t yet know it. And Gareth… We don’t yet know what Gareth is searching for, but we see him strangely disturbed at times and know there is more to tell. The frame story continues through this series of 10 novels based on the history of Christianity in Scotland and Ireland, stories that were previously told in Fields of Bannockburn.

[Wendy Jornod]

History buffs and fans of recent Scottish shows will enjoy Donna Fletcher Crow’s well-researched look into the early roots of the land that became Scotland. The fictionalized history is full of enough real characters and situations to be educational while entertaining. Her look at the beginnings of Christianity in this realm inspires with age-old truths while enlightening the reader to the mystic culture pervading this region. The Keeper of the Stone: Of Saints and Chieftains is the beginning of the Celtic Cross Series and can be read as a stand-alone although the reader will see the continuity of history by reading the entire set. Told through the lens of a Scottish Sennachie, the story of St. Columba comes alive showing his love for all people and his quest to see all the land come to know the true God.

[English · Rating 4 out of 5]

I understand that this series is actually a multi-volume republication of an older work by the author entitled "The Feilds of Bannockburn" which is meant to span many centuries of Scottish history. That book has been out of print for some time, was about 500 pages long, so format is more managable as four short novels.

There isn't a lot of Medieval Christian fiction that represents the time period accurately or, indeed, respectfully, but this was one of them. Although it didn't follow the typical formula with adventure/romance, it was still an excellent read which bought the lives of some of Scotland's earliest Saints to life.

[Jeffrey Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Keeper of the Stone: Of Saints and Chieftains is Epoch One of the Celtic Cross Series. In it, Donna Fletcher Crow does an excellent job of telling history in story form, where you keep your attention throughout.

You can call The Celtic Cross a re-release of her previous books, The Fields of Bannockburn and The Banks of the Boyne, dividing these historical stories into a set of ten books (the former being a four part look at Scottish history, and the latter being six dealing with Ireland). In this new version, she also adds a story of three contemporary young people in modern times.

The beginning and ending of the book take place in current times. The rest of this book jumps back to the 500's and looks at Saint Columba. Personally, I thought the transition could be smoother between present and past - the present story occupies only the first couple of chapters and the final one, with the rest a millenium and a half ago.

The major part of the story focuses on Columba, and I found his story inspiring, especially with him wrestling with his past sins. It deals well with the conflict missionaries faced in the 500's - and in the 2000's, as well as any other time following Pentecost - struggling against the native religious beliefs of a society. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip into the past and getting to know some history. Which, considering how strong a story-teller Donna Fletcher Crow is, doesn't surprise me at all.

I'm looking forward to reading on in the series. The ending doesn't have the resolution I'm used to in Crow's series (such as the Monastery Murders, Lord Danvers Investigates, and the Elizabeth and Richard Literary Suspense series, all of which also are good at looking into the past). So I'm not just interested in learning about what will happen to the characters, but also in learning more about the history of Scotland and Ireland.

I did receive a copy of this book for my unbiased review.

[Barbara Keigher · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about Scotland in the 1300 hundreds.
It was well written.
I had a little bit of a hard time,
as it seemed to be mostly from a Catholic world view point,
tho it did have some good Biblical precepts.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the "old" story part of this book better than the "modern" bits. Columba's tale was well-told and captured my attention. I'm very curious to know how the rest of his story will play out in the rest of the books from this series.

[Deon]

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[Margaret Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

This is the type of historical story that can touch lives. One that shows the danger of anger and the blessing of forgiveness.