The Blessing Stone

Once upon a time, in the earliest of time as a matter of fact, a meteor fell to the earth. It contained a beautiful blue stone which was picked up on the African plains by a primitive human girl called Tall One (named for obvious reasons). [return][return]The stone granted her certain power over her tribe, and gave her the push she needed into following her instincts, thus setting into motion the evolution of the human race.[return][return]Tall One passed on, as did the stone. It played a significant role in the lives of various individuals, dividing this novel into eight stories linked by the one blue stone.[return][return]In the first three stories, women are still revered for their powers of being able to give birth. This changed rapidly as civilisation evolved. In the fourth story, a Roman officer presents it to his wife as his version of a scarlet letter. He forces her to wear it out and would tell everyone the story behind it - it was worn by an Egyptian queen who was put to death for adultery. [return][return]Amelia suffers this in silence. When her Jew friend Rachel invites her to join her home church, Amelia learns about Jesus the Jew who was crucified 30 years ago. She came to forgive her husband and make the best of her situation. But Cornelius is not a man to be denied the pleasure of tormenting his wife. [return][return]Amelia dies and is canonised as a saint. Her remains came into the possession of a church in England several centuries later, resting under the roof of the chapel of St. Amelia.[return][return]The focus moves on to Mother Winifred, the prioress of St. Amelia. The chapel is home to the scriptorium where illuminations are added to text. Winifred wants nothing more than to paint the altarpiece to honour St. Amelia but Father Abbot will not hear of it. He is on a quest to close the old chapel and move the sisters to the new one where they can teach younger nuns the art before they die.[return][return]The point of conflict is established, but Winifred is on the losing end. By accident, she discovers the stone and is presented with a new problem - sell the stone for pigments that the sisters so desperately need and the church refuses to fund, or hold on to it for the time being and rely on her resourcefulness for worldly matters. It is in this manner that the blue stone saved the lives of herself and her sisters.[return][return]The stone passed through many hands and many years, and the story continues in Germany where a young peasant woman named Katherina sets off to find her father, who was on a quest to find St. Amelia s Stone.[return][return]This is probably the longest and most elaborate story, charting her journey from Germany to Jerusalem and the many obstacles that cropped up in-between. Katherina found love and lost it, was captured and sold into slavery twice, gave birth and found a place for herself in the process. [return][return]Her father did find the stone but he died before he could return to Katherina. The stone ended up in the French colony of Martinque, years after it was named the Star of Cathay. The tale here is short but surprising, and is my favourite of the lot because it shows the depth of deviousness women are capable of.[return][return]Eight epics in two sittings is the right way to a headache, which was exactly what happened to me. The Blessing Stone is a good choice for those wanting to try the author without committing to a full length single story. [return][return]Barbara Wood is my other guilty pleasure author, with a gift for engaging characters and attention to detail. It wasn t easy finding her novels here though, so good luck.[return]return