A short number of years ago, whilst researching my own book, I was travelling around South Wales and the South East of England visiting several Neolithic and pagan sites, such as Silbury Hill, Avebury, the Roman forts of Caerleon and Caerwent, both located near various stone circles, and other sites of significance. I noted, with good humour, that Paul Robichaud was visiting many of the same sites at the same time, and we were passing each other on an almost daily basis.
I wondered at the time whether this was to be research into an upcoming new book, and was happily surprised when Stories of the Stones: Imagining Prehistory in Britain, Ireland and Brittany was announced, as my question had been answered.
It would be easy to just say that Stories of the Stones is a well-researched book; however, I was very satisfied that the book not just delves into the history of our ancient monuments, but also much of the folklore, myths, legends and creatures that saturate our history. I was very happy to read about the ghosts related to the sites and their inclusion in both prose and the national press, with accounts from the early twentieth century concerning hauntings in Wiltshire, especially at one of my favourite sites, Avebury.
Drawing from both traditional sources, such as William Stukeley and Aubrey Burl, Robichaud has taken advantage of more modern and esoteric sources, such as Julian Cope, who himself often combines history with music, but also delves into wider narratives to highlight how ancient sites and practices have influenced many aspects of more modern media, such as Brother’s Grimm, and the widely acclaimed 1973 folk-horror, The Wicker Man, which itself helped bring pagan rites to a woder audience.
In Stories of the Stones, Paul Robichaud combines the past with the present to create a newer and more visually dynamic history of many of the sites which have influenced our culture for thousands of years, and highlights that the tales relating to these sites resonate with today’s world as importantly as they did when they were created.
- Stories of the Stones: Imagining Prehistory in Britain, Ireland and Brittany by Paul Robichaud is out now and published by Reaktion Books (£25.00). To order a copy, go to reaktionbooks.co.uk
Founder and Editor of Pilgrim House and The Gothic Revival, currently researching Folklore and early Welsh Christianity. Tom’s other work on music, poetry, writing on autism along other writings and images can be found at https://tomasstanger.com
