Amovingandpersonaljourney,alongruggedcoastsandthroughremotevillagesandcities,insearchofthetracesofthoseaccusedofwitchcraftinseventeenth-centuryScotland.’It’ssummer.IstandwhereperhapsEllenstood,inthisgroundthickwithnewthistleandlonggrass.Shewouldhavekennedthiscoastinallweathers:inthesummerwhenitwasasgentleasalakeandinthewinter,withthehighwindsandstingingsaltspray.’InAshesandStoneswevisitmodernmemorialsandstandingstones,androamamongforestsandhedgemazes,folkloreandpoliticalfantasies.Fromfairyhillstoforgottencaves,weexploreaspellboundlandscape.AllysonShawuntanglesthemythofwitchcraftandgivesvoicetothoseerasedbyit.Herelegantandlucidproseweavestogetherthreadsofhistoryandfeministreclamationtocreateavibrantmemorial.Thisistheuntoldstoryofthewitches’monumentsofScotlandandthewomen’slivestheymark.AshesandStonesisatroveoffolklorelinkingthelivesofcontemporarywomentothehorrorsofthepast,arecordofresilienceandacalltochooseandrememberourancestors.
