The Stone

Plundered from Scotland by Edward I in 1296, the Stone of Destiny lay beneath the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey for 700 years—but for centuries rumour and speculation have surrounded the origins of this legendary symbol of Royal power. Was this the real Stone, or merely a 13th century fake? Is the Stone that finally returned to Scotland in 1996 and now rests within the cient walls of Edinburgh Castle just a lump of sandstone, hastily quarried at Scone to deceive the 13th century English invaders, while the true Scottish Coronation Stone was spirited away to a secret hiding place somewhere in Perthshire?

The Stone is Nigel Tranter's extraordinary tale of the quest for the true Stone of Destiny, and with it the possible solution to a mystery that has endured for more than 700 years.