Storm’s Edge: Life, Death and Magic in the Islands of Orkney

by Peter Marshall

From Peter Marshall, winner of the Wolfson Prize 2018, a history of Orkney islands that dives deep into island culture, difference and the evolution of folklore, belief and community memory.
Peter Marshall was born on Orkney, his ancestors farmers and farm labourers on the northern island of Sanday. In fact, one of them was murdered by a witch there in 1624.

In this book, Marshall looks afresh at the small island that has been treated by history as a footnote, remote and peripheral. Through Orkney, we encounter a wild, isolated place where language was different to the mainland, neighbours depended entirely on each other and beliefs were pieced together by communities over generations. We traverse three centuries of religious, political and economic upheaval, a time during which what we think of as modern Scotland, and then modern Britain, was being forged and tested.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Scotland, Travel, Audiobook

560 pages, Hardcover

Published November 5, 2024

About the author

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name. For other authors of this name, see:

Rev. Peter Marshall, 1902-1949 - Religion & Spirituality, Christianity
Peter Marshall - Thriller, Biography, Science
Sir Peter Marshall - British Diplomat
Peter Marshall - Television Personality, Actor
Peter Marshall - Squash, Autobiography
Peter Marshall - 16th/17th Century English History
Dr. Peter Marshall - Psychology, Accounting, Finance, Fiction, Memory, Gifted Children
Peter Marshall - Autobiography, Fiction
Peter F. Marshall - U.K. Railways
Peter H. Marshall - U.K. Philosopher, Historian, Biographer, Travel, Poet
Rev. Peter J. Marshall - History, Christianity, Christian Fiction
Peter James Marshall - U.K. Philosopher, Historian: 18th Century

Reviews

[Hiccopolit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having been born and raised in Orkney I felt obliged to prioritise a recently published book about the islands so highly praised by the likes of Tom Holland.

I found it tough going, particularly the first half. I find in-depth discussions about religion or monarchy rather tedious and can't get very excited about mystical beliefs of pre-modern people so the chapters focusing on those were a struggle.

There is considerable assumed knowledge of events of the time, and often a thicket of characters interrelated or with similar names which made listening to the audiobook a bit of a chore (and sometimes basic comprehension tricky).

As so often before, I'm glad I persevered. I found the final few chapters much more enjoyable. The ending - which features Sir Walter Scott - was excellent.

This is clearly a scholarly work and author can clearly write - but it's a bit dense for the casual reader, particularly those without a baseline familiarity with the islands and of broader Scottish/British history.

[Alison Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book for casual/popular history readers. It is dense, overwhelming at times, and requires a broader understanding of the covered world events than others with similar marketing.

It does not have to be read in order and I did find myself dipping in and out of it quite a bit.

Overall, worth the effort.

[Erik B.K.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm honestly leaning more towards 2 stars... but it's so clearly a very beloved subject of the writer, who so obviously spent a lot of time and love in it, that I feel bad about it...
But Storm's Edge is not what I expected at all. It's so dry, and so "scientific". No mystery, no folklore, no legends and stories. It's all politics and boring religion, all about the Catholic and later Protestant rulers and their petty political quarrels. Even the chapters on the Fey and folklore are told through the lens of these bishops and other clergy men. I felt like reading Wikipedia articles very often... A shame. I do love the multitude of gorgeous pictures. But I won't be keeping it.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing particular against this book. I just didn't find it particularly interesting and quit reading.

[Gillie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this booking was amazing, very informative and insightful. I have no background in history and would normally find history books hard going, but this is written in a way that I could picture people, places and events. For me it was an emotive book, not sure if that would have been an intention of the author, however, it was.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well researched history of Orkney, examining how the islands were impacted by national and international events from the time of James V through to the early 1800s. The chapters focus on an individual topics (religion, witch trials etc). There is a lot of information and cross referencing, and not a light hearted read. But very interesting.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s so hard to rate this book. I’m more impressed by the research & the undertaking, then the actual end result.
There are flashes of the great book this could have been, about the lives of real Orcadians during a time period that receives very little focus. And when the author himself is really writing, there are beautifully crafted, transportive sentences. But too much of the book focuses of the minutiae of the lives of many men, every third one of whom seems to be called Patrick.
Nowhere near enough witches. And that subtitle should be referred to Trading Standards.

[AVA · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating piece of writing. It's a distinct type of book! There is a nice awareness of the writer of modern sensibility and this is often looped into discussions of historical events/attitudes in a way that was refreshing.

[Carlton · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story [Peter Marshall ] wants to tell is framed and filled by contact and conjunction. It begins in 1540, with the arrival in the islands of an illustrious royal personage, and ends in 1814, with the visit to Orkney of a scarcely less eminent national luminary.
Across the British Isles, in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, ordinary people were submerged by successive waves of uninvited change. They experienced sweeping Reformation of religion; bloody civil conflict, rebellion and dynastic upheaval; the political union of once-sparring nations; the forging of empire, and the pursuit of warfare on a continental and global scale; an at first violent suppression, and then condescending dismissal, of folklore, magic and witches; a fitful flourishing of intellectual 'Enlightenment'; benefits, and costs, of commercial, agricultural and industrial 'revolution'

Sounded fascinating, but whatever, perhaps I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Unfinished.

[Peter McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

At some point I gave up trying to keep track of which of the Stewarts and Sinclairs and Halcros were which, and I skipped about a chapter and a half as a result. The clear highlight is the chapter on Orkney’s witch-trials, which is better than many whole books on early modern witchcraft. The chapter on the Reformation was also worth a read, and made me think again about (among other things) George Mackay Brown writing from Stromness about Scotland being a ‘Knox-ruined nation’: I’m not sure whether it is ironic or, in fact, perfectly consonant that Orkney was among the least ‘Knox-ruined’ places in Scotland.

[Elizabeth Judd Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish at 3/4 of the way through
The title of the book made me think this would be a history of the people of Orkney throughout the ages, but the title really had nothing to do with the contents, which deals with nobles and (especially) religious figures mainly from the period of the 16th-18th centuries. So, a much shorter timeframe and a much more rigid bit of history than I was expecting. Also, the book reads like a mix of a textbook and a popular history, which just doesn’t work for me (I don’t mind one or the other—I was a history major—but I don’t like a mix). Decided to just let it go as it’s very long and I have other things I enjoy more.

[RustyShack · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is laughably misleading, suggesting that the social and cultural aspects of Orkney will be the focus while in reality the book is completely dominated by (tedious as always) geopolitics. The few sociocultural bits are generally told via multiple sequential trial summaries.

Overall, the sensibility is one of extreme reverence for facts, as though they are all inherently fascinating and of equal value, and that accumulating and enumerating great numbers of them will result in authoritative and compelling writing.

[Steve Mepham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book about the fraught history between England and Scotland, with particular emphasis placed on the view from an Orcadian point of view.

Starting from early days as, variously, part of the Kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Scotland, on through the 18th and early 19th centuries and Orkney's place in the 'United' Kingdom it views politics, religion and social change as if through the 'wrong end of a telescope' with Orkney often catching up after change has reached other parts of Britain first.

Well worth your time, but to be read in stages.

[Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some chapters got bogged down in excruciating detail, but the writer's style is thoughtful and clear. He does an excellent job of considering historic context without giving people a pass for barbaric acts. I also deeply appreciated that he didn't try to make it about him - the books that purport to be about history etc and then turn into sad autobiographies comprise my least favorite genre. This is an honest history book, and a good one at that.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very detailed history of Orkney from 1540 to 1818. I won't remember the names and numbers but the general impressions and sweep of history will stick. It gives me a much better picture of Orkney that will be helpful in my trip.

[Jennifer Bridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

For an average sized book, this is densely written - rich with fascinating facts and descriptions. It’s a tour de force.

[rose todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to learning about Orkney. The title of this book is intriguing ... but the telling is very dry, and that is the shame.
The history gets bogged down in C16 or there abouts, with what seemed like an endless killing spree in the grasping for power, as one bunch of Sinclairs (insert a succession of different surnames here) get massacred by the other half of the family, then then swap surnames and the same happens again. Then, there is the arrival of the Scottish state with its differing laws, language, and religious hang-ups, where countryside and old country superstitions are interpreted as works of the devil to be scared out of the population but torture and the burning of scapegoats at the stake.
Throughout the telling, it is the local people who are robbed of their lives, their livelihoods, their ways of living, and making sense of a capricious world.
The book assumes an understanding of Scottish History - the disaster of Flodden is never really explained.
The ruling elite and the church are such a reprehensible bunch, and the writing is so dry .... one dreadful deed after another in an endless list, that in the end, I gave up at chapter 6 ... around halfway through, and still not much the wiser.
I would still love to understand better the history, myths, and folklore of Orkney. Clearly, there is a great deal that predates the 1540 start of this book. Promising title but not my cup of tea.