Ashes and Stones: A Scottish Journey in Search of Witches and Witness

Product Information

She writes with a fluid lucidity that at times belies the subject matter but often brings it into sharp contrast with the way the trials are currently represented in both popular culture and some of the modern histories that elide the truth into something palatable. This is not just a history but also a reanimation of these women who have no graves, and had little or no voice in their own time, and also a reimagining of the lives and deaths. Allyson makes it very clear when she is sharing historical record and when she is painting their portraits with words from conjecture and her deep understanding of the folklore and beliefs of the time. It is nothing short of magic, the best possible use of this sort of spell. Allyson Shaw untangles the myth of witchcraft and gives voice to those erased by it. Her elegant and lucid prose weaves threads of history and feminist reclamation, alongside beautiful travel, nature and memoir writing, to create a vibrant memorial. This is the untold story of the witches’ monuments of Scotland and the women’s lives they mark. Ashes and Stones is a trove of folklore linking the lives of modern women to the horrors of the past, and it is record of resilience and a call to choose and remember our ancestors. Ashes and Stones is beautifully written look at the treatment of women accused of witchcraft in Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries, woven alongside the memoir of the author and how the lives of the women feel reflected in their own life.

Allyson Shaw untangles the myth of witchcraft and gives voice to those erased by it. Her elegant and lucid prose weaves together threads of history and feminist reclamation to create a vibrant memorial. This is the untold story of the witches' monuments of Scotland and the women's lives they mark. Ashes and Stones is a trove of folklore linking the lives of contemporary women to the horrors of the past, a record of resilience and a call to choose and remember our ancestors. Allyson Shaw's book is a beautifully written investigation of the treatment of women in Scotland during the 17th and 18th century. Shaw's lyrical phrasing untangles the myths and limited historical findings of this period, shedding light on the cruel treatment of (mostly) women accused of witchcraft by men in positions of power. The author's personal connection to this history adds a layer of emotion and authenticity to her writing, making it a tribute to those who suffered before her. A beautifully written personal account of the discovery of late antiquity by one of the world's most influential and distinguished historians There's reports of the trial confessions, alongside the torture that led to some of these confessions - it often reads like fiction but it is so scary to think that these things actually happened to these women! It looks in to the history of the time, the reformation of religion, the misogyny, paranoia and power that men had over women and it really addsThis book is a fascinating read and one that is quite hard to categorise. Though non-fiction it also is a memoir of Allyson's journey to a remote Scottish village and her fascinating research and discoveries of the Scottish Witch Trials, Witches monuments, gardens and folklore and myths that have accurately or inaccurately been passed on through the ages. In an effort to understand how such an atrocity could have happened, academic historians have investigated the underlying cauldron of religious and social disruption in European communities as the area transformed from medieval to modern. There is no obvious answer for why community leaders started believing that witches lived in their midst. Some scholars suggest that part of the explanation might be economic. Most of the witchcraft accusations and executions in Scotland happened during five specific periods lasting only a year or two, and those specific years had especially intense financial upheavals during which many communities were forced to reduce aid for spinsters, widows, people with disabilities, and other people in need of social support. These people seem to have been accused of witchcraft in much higher numbers than other community members. Shaw writes of the sense of displacement she felt living in the USA that drew her to emigrate to Britain, eventually settling in Scotland.

A moving and personal journey, along rugged coasts and through remote villages and cities, in search of the traces of those accused of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Scotland.

{{listSignup.SignupName}}

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton Sceptre for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Ashes & Stones’ by Allyson Shaw. I complemented my reading with its unabridged audiobook edition, narrated by Lucy Paterson.