The Stone

For seven centuries the block beneath the Coronation Chair at Westminster has been accepted as the Stone of Destiny carried away by Edward I in 1296. Yet an enduring Scottish tradition insists that the English seized only a hastily quarried substitute and that the true coronation stone was hidden near Scone. When an Oxford research team believes it has identified the secret location and prepares to recover the object, an antiquarian controversy becomes an urgent contest over ownership, history and national pride.

An impoverished young Scottish baronet decides that, genuine or not, the stone must not be removed to England. Joined by a former riveter and a local farmer’s daughter, he races to reach the hiding place first and keep the discovery in Scotland. Their improvised operation soon attracts rivals, official scrutiny and the threat of violence. Set in the twentieth century but driven by a medieval mystery, the novel combines pursuit, humour and patriotic adventure while asking whether a national symbol derives its power from material authenticity or from centuries of belief.