posted on 24 Oct 2017

Secret of the Stones by Tony Bradman, illustrated by Martin Remphry

Blood sacrifice, murder and battles can be guaranteed to get the attention of younger readers and there is plenty in this action packed tale. It also gives an intriguing glimpse into the everyday life of a tribe living at Stonehenge in 2300 BC as well as lots of detail about how copper and tin can be made from the right kind of stones and why bronze came to be such an important material.

Tony Bradman paints a clear picture of Stonehenge and conveys its natural beauty along with its importance as a significant holy place described as ‘the gateway between the Land of the Living and the Land of the Dead’. The narrator is twelve year old Maglos who is the only son of the High Priest of Stonehenge, whose mother died when he was very young. In chapter two he witnesses his father being brutally slaughtered by his uncle Tigran right in front of his eyes, and then fears for his own life. Fortunately he is saved at the very last minute because a travelling metal-worker, Athir, and his brother, Caturix offer to buy him as a slave. It soon becomes apparent that they have much kinder motives and were merely concerned to help him escape safely. Caturix doesn’t speak but uses sign language which adds another dimension to the story - Bradman explains in the afterword that historians believe that such communication systems evolved a very long time ago. The brothers take good care of him and offer him friendship and family. They also invite him to learn their trade, working with ‘the secret of the stones’  to fashion jewellery, knives and other tools which they sell up and down the country.

Maglos is understandably grief stricken at his father's brutal murder, which I think is a very important part of the story to emphasise. Too often it seems that we read about people dying in past centuries without stopping to consider the deep pain that must have been felt by their loved ones. The view that 'it was different in those days because people were more used to death' seems  as ridiculous as some dismissive statements about people from less developed or unfortunately situated countries being used to famine, disease and natural disasters. We really care about this character because he reacts to the loss of his father in a recognisable way. The gentle black and white illustrations by Martin Remphry in the first chapter help to show the tender relationship between father and son and another shows his horror and rage as he sees him lying dead on the altar. Bradman writes with great sensitivity about how Maglos was initially stunned by his father's death and then moving from feelings of despair, lack of interest in his own future through to a deep desire for revenge. He allows this central character time and space to express his sorrow which is still keenly felt several years later. When he eventually returns to confront his uncle after three years, he is determined to kill him with a fine bronze sword that has been made with that objective in mind.

This is a deceptively simple story based on a real event when the remains of someone known as the Amesbury Archer and another man were found near Stonehenge in 2002. Bradman has skilfully woven a plausible tale around these two individuals and so given a glimpse into their lives and the part they played in teaching Maglos the craft of metal work. He is an author who has a real flair for doing this and has already published other books for example ‘Anglo Saxon Boy’ and ‘Viking Boy’  using a similar trick. I would imagine that they are hugely popular with young readers because they offer a window into many strange worlds that they will want to go on to find out more about. Fiction is a great way to engage children with history and so I would strongly recommend this one as a start to learning more about the Bronze Age. But it is also an example of another crackingly good and accessible read from Barrington Stoke publishers with illustrations that play their part in building the tense atmosphere.

 

Karen Argent

October 2017