Stone Will Answer: A Journey Guided by Craft, Myth and Geology

by Beatrice Searle

A beautiful memoir, travelogue, and meditation on stone by artist and stone mason Beatrice Searle. 'What are you doing? If you don't mind me asking?' I say that we are taking this stone to Trondheim. I continue to tell her the story of Magnus and ancient Kings. 'Would you like to stand in it?' I ask. 'That is what it is for.' At the age of twenty-six, Beatrice Searle crossed the North sea and walked 500 miles through Southern Norway on a medieval pilgrim path to Nidaros Cathedral, taking with her a 40-kilo stone from the West coast of Orkney. She had recently completed her masonry training at Lincoln Cathedral and become fascinated with the mysterious footprint stones of Scandinavia, Northern Europe and the ancient Greco-Roman world; stones closely associated with travellers, saints and the inauguration of Kings. Following in their footsteps, her stone becomes a talisman of sorts, a bedrock on the move, and an offering to those she meets along the way. Stone Will Answer is an unusual adventure story of resilience and homecoming, of weight and motion, of rediscovering love and faith, and of journeys practical, spiritual and geological. A captivating blend of exploration, memoir and myth, and an insight into a beguiling craft, it asks what lessons might be learned from stone, what we choose to carry with us and what we return to put down or pick up again.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History, Memoir

352 pages, Hardcover

Published February 9, 2023

Reviews

[Kätlin Kaldmaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book like no other. A young woman, a stone almost as old as time itself, and a journey they took together. A revelation into stonemasonry - I’ve always believed stones are alive. Breathing, watching, moving.

[Harriet Steel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This unusual book tells the story of the author Beatrice Searle’s journey from Orkney across the North Sea and then for 500 miles on a medieval pilgrim path through southern Norway to Nidaros cathedral, dragging along with her a 40 kilo stone quarried on the West coast of Orkney. Trained as a stonemason at Lincoln cathedral and still in her twenties, Searle had become fascinated by the footprint stones of the ancient world and their association with saints, travellers and the inauguration of monarchs. The latter seemed to me to have a particular resonance at the time when I read the book because not long had passed since the coronation of King Charles and the bringing of the Stone of Scone from Scotland to Westminster Abbey to play it’s part in the ritual. The book offers glimpses into many subjects, from myth and legend to history and geology, as well as being an often painfully honest travelogue about the difficulties of transporting an object of such enormous weight, in the main without the help of modern conveniences, over all kinds of terrain. The people that Searle and her companion encounter along the way and their reaction to the stone added another layer of interest. I’ve not come across another book like this and I found it fascinating. Whatever your usual taste in books, I recommend giving it a try.

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a description of madness in all the best ways. Madness fuelled by self-discovery, a deep and driving inner need and the light of creativity, art and inspiration.

Beatrice has recently become a stone mason and after finding out about the myths of footprint stones - stones carved with foot prints on them, which are said to have magical properties to transport saints and kings - she decides to carve her own. The stone she divines is hers weighs 40 kilos. Once done, she then takes it from Orkney where it was found and carved, across the sea and on a 500 km pilgrim trail across Norway.

I was utterly fascinated by this. Her writing about the connection and love she has with and for stone is beautiful and her trip is bonkers.

[Chrissy Sneddon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book, I picked it up on a whim while on a drive through Fort William. The book alternates between a description of the journey with the stone and geology/ stoneworking information.
I did find the introspective writing of the author took a time to get used to, as it had seemed the original plan was to let people stand in the stone, but she seemed to be almost reluctant for this to happen. As the journey progressed though, the experience shifted to being about her progress and self-reflection.
I'm glad I've read it, I'd have liked to see a good photo of the stone itself, but maybe that's not the point of it all.

[Leoniepeonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely gorgeous book, bringing together meditations on stone and time, stone masonry and crafts(wo)manship, pilgrimage, and faith of all kinds. I wasn't completely sure that I'd gel with the writing style at first, and there were things in it that I'd have edited differently to make things clearer, had I been in charge, but I really didn't find that I cared: none of those imperfections took away from the beauty and belief that underpinned this journey and its writing. An absolute corker of a book, and made me feel so much connection to and with everything around me in the reading.

[EK · Rating 4 out of 5]

I inhaled this book in a night and a morning, looking for answers and finding none. Why bring a 40-kg stone from Orkney to Trondheim? Well, why not, really? It's art, after all. The difficulty is what makes it art.

As I read, I found myself developing a lot of opinions about the author's relationship; good thing this was a hardback as I was really white-knuckling at some points. Suffice it to say that some burdens are lighter when carried alone.

I hope that Magnus and Simba are having a wonderful day, wherever they are now.

[Amrita Ahluwalia-McMeddes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book, beautifully crafted. I love creative non-fiction and Beatrice Searle’s writing absolutely delivers, it is thoughtful, thought-provoking and intimate. This is a story about an ambitious young stonemason embarking on a foolhardy journey with a big ole stone, but it also serves as a fable about growing up, breaking up, belonging, and legacy. I loved it, can’t wait to read more from Beatrice!

[K Curry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly bonkers. I love bonkers books. This reluctant pilgrim wrestles a 40kg stone across Norway along an ancient pilgrim trail. 40 kg! When I hike I agonise about any miniscule gram that I can lose to save weight. But this young woman literally carts a 40 kg stone up hills and across mountains.
As I said bonkers.
But also refreshingly brilliant.

[Linnea Kristoffersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
I probably would have enjoyed this book a lot more if I’d actually been in a reading mood even once throughout January, but here we are🤷
I just wanna actually have the time/patience to read, is that too much to ask?
Although I really liked the concept of this one!

[Asha]

great premise not executed well unfortunately

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stone Will Answer is not only a brilliant contemplation of the spiritual and historical power of stone, but a riveting travelogue through Norway's wilderness. Fans of Raynor Winn, like myself, will love Searle's lengthy and challenging journey through a semi-isolated natural world.

Unlike Winn, however, in this story too are the tribulations that come from her decision to undertake this pilgrimage while wheeling an 40kg Orcadian stone at her back. In many ways this book is a tale of intense physical effort guided by deep personal philosophy, whether that is in the craft of stone-masonry or the long and laden walk.

It is also a treatise on human relationships, to places and to other people; and the meaning these relationships will always hold in a person's life, even when severed. I cannot recommend this book enough, and encourage anyone with a love for art, nature, history, and philosophy to give it a read.

(My bookseller review.)