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The Blessing Stone

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 584 ratings · 72 reviews

Millions of years ago, a meteorite fell to earth and a beautiful blue stone shattered from it. One hundred thousand years ago, a girl named Tall One found the crystal on the African plain---and it formed her destiny, as well as the destiny of generations to come. From ancient Israel to imperial Rome, medieval England, fifteenth-century Germany, the eighteenth-century Carib...more

Paperback, 464 pages

Published January 17th 2004 by St. Martin's Griffin (first published 2003)

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Jan 08, 2009 Gette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 sig...more 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](2006)(less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

A novel of massive scope, following the journey of a piece of smooth, blue meteorite and those who temporarily possess it from the proto-human Tall One to a traveler on the Oregon Trail. In each story, the stone has a lesson to teach as humanity progresses. Much historical data is imparted while still reading like compelling fiction. Each protagonist is fully drawn and a genuine representative of his or her era. While I most enjoyed the story of Katharina and her journey, beginning in 1520, from...more

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Jul 20, 2008 GoldenjoyBazyll rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: barbara-woods, fiction

Ever stand outside of an old house and wonder if this building could talk I bet it would have amazing stories to tell? Well, this book is sort of like that. I loved traveling through time with this very special stone. If you love a good jorney mixed with adventure and have a preference for the magical..... U will enjoy this read. I did!

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Jun 11, 2010 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Millions of years ago, a meteorite fell to earth and shattered, revealing a beautiful blue stone. One hundred thousand years ago, a girl named Tall One found the crystal on the African plain, and it formed her destiny--as well as the destiny of generations to come. From ancient Israel to Imperial Rome, medieval England to 15th Century Germany and so on to the present, the destiny of the stone and the history of the world unfold. The Blessing Stone tells the details of the characters' lives and c...more

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May 03, 2010 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Forrest Gump? The Earth's Children series? Michener? This book was evocative of all of them... it just fell short.

It's fantastic... but not in the informal sense. It's fantastic as in being created by unrestrained imagination. That's not all good, but it isn't all bad, either. There were parts of the book I loved, but there was always the niggling thought that everything was too special, too extraordinary, too contrived.

I'll read some more of the author's books, because some of her underlying co...more

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Apr 12, 2010 Renee rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was recommended to me by a friend and was a bit difficult to stay "into" for a sustained period of time. It reminded me initially a lot of the Clan of the Cavebear series but quickly changed to a more historical and current slant. If you've seen the movie "Red Violin" it's similar in concept.... follows an ancient blue stone the purports to hold the elixir of life from caveman times to current. It's divided into sections by time period and has an epic feel to it as the stone is passed...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Sandra Grauschopf rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

I thought this book had an intriguing premise. A long time ago, a meteorite crashed to earth. In the heat of the atmosphere, an unusual crystal was formed -- deep blue with a diamond heart. This crystal shaped both individual lives and human history, and was viewed both as a blessing and a curse.

The book is made up of loosely-connected short stories. I'm not a huge fan of short stories, but these were pretty impressive. Each was interesting in its own way. Plus, the short story format made it a...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Emily Decobert rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Blessing Stone is a series of stories connected by a single factor, an amazing stone created by a metorite millions of years ago. It begins with a Neandthral who finds the stone in the Rift Valley of Africa and the stone travels on and on, dropping out of history for many years only to emerge in the next short story. This book crosses time and country as easily as a stone can travel in a pocket, showing up in a variety of places, each time changing the people it touches who in some way affec...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Jenny January rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Blessing Stone is a novel containing eight vignettes surrounding a blue stone that first made its way to earth 100,000 years ago in Africa as a fragment of a blue meteorite. It breaks off and becomes smoothed and polished by the earth and is found by a woman. It chronicles the existence of the blue stone as it makes its way through thousands of years and into the hands of many people and the significance it holds for each owner of the stone. I won’t describe each book because it would take f...more
The Blessing Stone is a novel containing eight vignettes surrounding a blue stone that first made its way to earth 100,000 years ago in Africa as a fragment of a blue meteorite. It breaks off and becomes smoothed and polished by the earth and is found by a woman. It chronicles the existence of the blue stone as it makes its way through thousands of years and into the hands of many people and the significance it holds for each owner of the stone. I won’t describe each book because it would take forever, but just know that each story is so incredibly imaginative and elaborate and beautiful. The stone holds a different significance for each owner but they are all interconnected to one another, and they all find inner strength and courage by possessing the stone. Each book was so incredibly amazing and Barbara Wood is such a great storyteller and I just want to read every book she has ever written. I found it very interesting that in beginning 100,000 years ago it was a matriarchal society where women were revered and look to for guidance and made into goddesses for men and women to worship and then later women were pushed aside and held down while men took over and society became very patriarchal. The existence of religion slowly became prominent and it was interesting to see how many wars and bloodshed that was caused over religion when earlier when goddesses were worshipped and woman ruled there were no wars or bloodshed. Whenever I love something so much I find it so hard to describe it in any way that is the least bit coherent, so I will just paste a description of the book from a website.

Millions of years ago, a meteorite fell to earth and shattered, revealing a beautiful blue stone. One hundred thousand years ago, a girl named Tall One found the crystal on the African plain, and it formed her destiny—as well as the destiny of generations to come. From ancient Israel to Imperial Rome, medieval England to fifteenth-century Germany, the eighteenth-century Caribbean, and the nineteenth-century American West, the destiny of the stone and the history of the world unfold. Each story is full of the betrayals and obsessions of the human heart, and the quests of the human spirit. In The Blessing Stone, Barbara Wood has both told the intimate details of her characters’ lives and created a sense of the epic sweep of human history.
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Feb 02, 2011 Joana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romances-históricos

Toda esta obra é um belo desfilar de personagens, vidas e realidades históricas. O livro pretende contar a história da humanidade a partir do percurso de uma misteriosa pedra azul, começando nos tempos mais remotos da pré-história. A pedra, que resultou do embate de um meteoro com a superfície terrestre, nos primórdios do tempo, foi passando de mão em mão ao longo dos tempos, tendo marcado todos os seus donos, pela sua extrema e beleza e pelos poderes mágicos que estes invariavelmente lhe reconh...more

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Jul 07, 2010 Yang Shu-yuan added it

Vor drei Millionen Jahre ist er aus Sternenstaub entstanden: ein glatter, ovaler, tiefblauer Kristall. 2,9 Millionen Jahre ruht er, bis eine Jägerin der Homo sapiens ihn findet. Von nun an wird er den Menschen, die ihn besitzen, die Kraft geben, ihren Träumen zu folgen.
Da bekommt vor 35.000 Jahren Laliari von einem Neandertaler den Stein geschenkt und steigt mit dessen Hilfe zur mächtigsten Frau im Clan auf. Avram, ein Junge aus dem Jordan-Tal vor 10.000 Jahren, stiehlt den Stein aus Liebeskumme...more

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Mar 30, 2010 Nuno Magalhães rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-histórico, own, favorites

Em "A Pedra Abençoada" Barbara Wood construiu um texto que nos relata oito momentos chave da História Universal da Humanidade, usando como fio condutor o trajecto percorrido por um pedra azul que "teve origem numa explosão cataclísmica de proporções estelares" ocorrida há 3000000 anos no espaço profundo. Esta ideia parece inicialmente um pouco pueril, mas o desenrolar dos acontecimentos rapidamente nos absorve a atenção. Trata-se de facto de uma estratégia muito inteligente encontrada pela autor...more Em "A Pedra Abençoada" Barbara Wood construiu um texto que nos relata oito momentos chave da História Universal da Humanidade, usando como fio condutor o trajecto percorrido por um pedra azul que "teve origem numa explosão cataclísmica de proporções estelares" ocorrida há 3000000 anos no espaço profundo. Esta ideia parece inicialmente um pouco pueril, mas o desenrolar dos acontecimentos rapidamente nos absorve a atenção. Trata-se de facto de uma estratégia muito inteligente encontrada pela autora para relatar factos históricos que nos permitem acompanhar a evolução dos seres humanos como espécie. É um livro deveras interessante, e permite-nos reflectir em dois aspectos muito interessantes sobre nós mesmos. Em primeiro lugar, apecebemo-nos que, à medida que fomos crescendo em inteligência, tornamo-nos mais sociais, mas também mais perversos. Em segundo lugar, as histórias que compõem esta narração são-nos sempre relatadas do ponto de vista do ser humano feminino: trata-se sempre de histórias de mulheres que, sendo influenciadas pela beleza da pedra, nela encontraram o estímulo para se assumirem como seres pensantes e inteligentes, autónomos e com capacidade de decidirem os seus próprios destinos. A mensagem principal do livro é precisamente esta: nós temos tudo dentro de nós, só precisamos de ousar, desafiar nossas amarras, conquistar mais liberdade. A narração inicia-se com a história de Alta, em África há 100000 anos, prossegue com a história de Laliari até Talitha, no Próximo Oriente há 35000 anos, seguindo-se o percurso de Avram e Marit no vale do rio Jordão há 10000 anos. A seguir acompanhamos Amélia na Roma do ano 64 D.C., para de seguida saltarmos para a Inglaterra do ano 1022 com a história de Winifred. Saltamos depois para a Alemanha de 1520 para apreciar o extraordinário percurso de vida de Katharina, seguindo-se a história de Brigitte na Martinica em 1720. A última história relata-nos o pecurso de Matthew e Emmeline no Oeste Americano em 1848. Aconselho vivamente a leitura deste livro a todos aqueles que se maravilham com a força interior do ser humano e a respectiva capacidade para lutar contra a adversidade, mas também porque nos permite aprender muitos factos interessantes sobre a nossa evolução como espécie.(less)

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Feb 01, 2010 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: goddesses and history buffs

This book arrived to my attention at the perfect moment. I was already in the depths of a Roman history self study, Netflixing as many documentaries on ancient Rome that I could find. How surprised I was to read a section on Roman life in Barbara Wood's "Blessing Stone." Now I'm finished gobbling up the Roman times, I am moving on to early civilization, thanks to this book perking my interest.

Most amazing to me is Ms. Wood's historical accuracy. She nails it. I really am a closeted history buff...more This book arrived to my attention at the perfect moment. I was already in the depths of a Roman history self study, Netflixing as many documentaries on ancient Rome that I could find. How surprised I was to read a section on Roman life in Barbara Wood's "Blessing Stone." Now I'm finished gobbling up the Roman times, I am moving on to early civilization, thanks to this book perking my interest.

Most amazing to me is Ms. Wood's historical accuracy. She nails it. I really am a closeted history buff and this book gave me an excellent fix. From Neanderthals to emigrants moving westward in the California gold rush, I learned a lot more than I knew before this book. So interesting. I vaguely knew that international slave trading goes on frequently in the present world I live, but I was surprised that it's nothing new. In elementary school, a white person guilt emerged after I learned about the African slaves who were kidnapped from their homeland. I really thought Americans invented this. Not so. It's been a prevalent part of human experience since the beginning. And "The Blessing Stone" presents it in a way that allowed me to safely become part of the action.

Barbara's storytelling ability drew me in every time. There are eight snapshots in history all with differently defined tones, themes, and plots with the blessing stone as the common thread. Characters who came upon the stone saw different visions in its center, visions that fundamentally changed them and the choices they made. The reader soon realizes the blessing stone is not so much prophetic as it is reflective of the inner growth of the person holding it. This type plot may lend itself to formulaic patterns and predictable outcomes, but not with "The Blessing Stone." I never, ever knew what was to come. Partially because I didn't know the historical context and partially because Barbara Wood is a masterful storyteller, truly.

Although each story changes in ways mentioned, I did find a main theme throughout that may be more reflective of who I am right now than it is purposeful. The women in this book possess a great inner power and strength, all containing attributes of the goddess realized. It is my deepest core belief that women contain the values, knowledge, and guidance with which to orchestrate earthly civilized living. Women, when in their goddess state, have well tuned diplomacy skills, communication brilliance, and a gentle nurturance allowing those around them to ground and stabilize. It's hard to maintain this goddess state when the imbalance of aggressive male energy dominates the waves, but when we goddesses shine, we are brilliant and everyone takes notice. Ms. Wood's characters and vision validate my core belief. So refreshing!

Great book and the first of Barbara Wood's I've read. I will be putting more of her literature on my "to-read" list!(less)

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May 15, 2013 Bokabud rated it 4 of 5 stars

Una piedra mágica, distintas vidas. Con la excusa de este elemento en común, nos vemos introducidos en diferentes vidas repartidas en consecutivas épocas históricas. Las historias resultan interesantes de por sí, aunque probablemente la razón por la que fueron unidas en un sólo libro con el elemento común de la piedra mágica es porque no pueden dar mucho más de sí. Sin duda, las primeras historias son las mejores.

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Dec 29, 2008 Mindy rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of my favorite books! It follows a stone (that some believe has magical powers) through history. It tells the stories of the many people who come in contact with the stone. (I love books like this with multiple stories.) I remember it being hard to get started on, but it is definitely worth sticking with! I have read several of Barbara Wood's other books, which have all been good, too.

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Jul 08, 2012 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

p. 24 effulgent moon (with radiant splendor)

[He] wasn't a bad man, just an unconscious one" (373).

"[Her] passion ran deep in ever aspect of her character... [she] wlecomed and embraced and experienced life with all the exuberance God had given her" (422).

And with these 3 quotes, found in an old journal, I remember why I liked this book so much, especially at this crossroads in my life

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Jul 20, 2009 Maile rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was experiencing a total crash of my life and I went to the
library for strong woman books and previously having read
Barbara Wood before - this was one of a stack of about 9 books-and about 4 years later I still recall this book and talk about how real her women are and how strong they all
become with the help of a stone ..Beautiful

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Jan 03, 2010 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction that follows a piece of metoric rock through 300,000 years of earth history,including a series of owners. Found it very interesting and hard to put down. Hated to see it end. I have discovered Barbara Wood as an author and am loving her style and inventive story-telling abilities.

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Aug 07, 2011 Suz rated it 4 of 5 stars

The story was interesting. To take the reader through the ages with the "stone" as a portkey was very unusual. There were parts of the story I felt the author rushed through, as if trying to finish something to get on with the next part. Some of the vignettes seemed a bit choppy, but over all a worthy read.

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Oct 21, 2012 Vivian rated it 5 of 5 stars

From how the stone was created in the beginning… thru wonderful Characters like Tall One, Laliari, avram, Lady Amelia, mother Winiferd courage, Katharina hop, Matthew master of his own destiny, the stone is many things to these characters.

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Feb 02, 2011 Abigail rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This book is almost like a collection of short stories except they are all connected by the Blessing Stone which becomes a character itself. The stories are all interesting in their own way and Wood writes about fascinating people and times.

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Apr 07, 2010 Sylvia added it

My goodness, what a dreadful book. Written in a way that totally patonises the reader, assuming minimal prior knowledge of the many events and eras detailed in the progress of the work. A rather limp attempt at an epic tale. 0 stars!!!

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Mar 05, 2012 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars

This took a little while for me to get into and I wasn't sure I was going to like it. Each period of time has new characters and situations that you become familiar with, go on adventures with and then leave behind. But when looking back at the end of the book(or from the present time through the past) you can see how they all went through similar challenges and relationships and see how the blue stone affected each in a different way.

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Jun 22, 2009 Alexandra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-novels

What a great book! This book contains so many stories within, not just one, and they are all very intriging(spell?)! I couldnt stop thinking about most of the characters and definatly didnt want to put it down....one of those ones!

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Feb 25, 2009 Shelly Kotalik rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: barbara-wood

A bunch of shorter stories in one all tied together by a mysterious stone. It spans the times from prehistoric man on. I really loved this book!!!

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Mar 18, 2011 James Thelman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great drama! I really love Barbara Wood's style of writing and it's so much fun following her characters through time. Highly, highly recommend.

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Sep 26, 2009 Elizabeth added it Recommends it for: everyone, but especially women

This is one of my top ten best books I have every read. Travel with the stone through different times. It is wonderful.

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Dec 19, 2008 Joann rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It was such an interesting read. It was great traveling through time.
I recommend it to everyone.

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Apr 24, 2012 Chalyx rated it 5 of 5 stars

A very inspiring set of stories that provoke insightfulness. In my opinion, the best Barbara Wood book yet.

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Jun 16, 2012 Virginia rated it 5 of 5 stars

My favorite book of all times. The epic history of mankind, with a link through the generations.

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About Barbara Wood

Barbara Wood was born on 30 January 1947 in Warrington, Lancashire, England, UK. Together with her parents and older brother, she immigrated to the United States. She grew up in Southern California and attended Los Angeles Schools. After High School, Barbara attended the University of California at Santa Barbara but left to train as a surgical technician. During this time, Barbara held numerous jo...more

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