The Living Stones: Cornwall
by Ithell Colquhoun
72 Members (4.17)
On This Page
Description
A classic travelogue by Britain's foremost female surrealist painter, which immerses the reader in a dreamlike Cornwall where landscape and legend meet "Her responses to the aura of place are keen, and her eye for detail is excitingly sharp" -- Sunday Times "She is sensitive to the ways of wind and water, the flowers and birds and trees" -- Country Life In the midst of the 2nd World War, surrealist painter Ithell Colquhoun withdraws from London to Cornwall, searching for a studio and a show more refuge from the Blitz, as well as from a shattered marriage. So begins a profound and lifelong relationship with Britain's westernmost county. It is a land of granite ridges and lush valleys, surrounded by sea and steeped in myth, where the ancient Celtic past makes contact with the present. There she finds a hut with no running water or electricity, and lovingly brings it to life, creating a haven for her creative pursuits, and slowly coming to think of these rivers, hills and caves, seen in every season, as her true home. Drawn to the sacred and the beautiful, the wild and the weird, Colquhoun writes about Cornwall as a living landscape, where every tree, standing stone and holy well is a palimpsest of folklore - and perhaps a place where everyday reality connects to the world beyond. In prose as gorgeously dreamlike as it is sharply witty, this inimitable artist gives us a travelogue deeply attuned to natural rhythms, local atmosphere and the eerie beauty of a place that is as much legend as it is water and rock. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Books Read in 2025
4,091 works; 97 members
Author Information
14+ Works 398 Members
Some Editions
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1957
- People/Characters
- Ithell Colquhoun; Colonel Camborne Paynter; Monica Baldwin; Dorothy; Bernard (M. E. Williams); Desmond Leslie (show all 16); Barney Camfield; Mary Camfield; Jessica Camfield; Betty Cock; King Arthur; Harriet Sarah Richards; Aleister Crowley; William Henry Paynter (Biil or Whyler Pystry); Tamsin Blight (as Tamson Blight); Cormoran
- Important places
- Cornwall, England, UK; Lamorna Cove, Cornwall, England, UK; West Penwith, Cornwall, England, UK; Avalon; Ictis, Cornwall, England, UK; Mousehole, Cornwall, England, UK (show all 16); Helston, Cornwall, England, UK; Padstow, Cornwall, England, UK; Harlyn, Cornwall, England, UK; Harlyn Bay, Cornwall, England, UK; St. Merryn, Cornwall, England, UK; Altarnun, Cornwall, England, UK; Trevurvas, Cornwall, England, UK; Lizard, Cornwall, England, UK; Germoe, Cornwall, England, UK; St. Michael's Mount, Marazion, Cornwall, England, UK
- Important events
- Gorsedd Byrth Kernow; Helston Furry Day; 'Obby 'Oss festival
- First words
- It was the place of deluge.
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 914.23751
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Travel, Religion & Spirituality, General Nonfiction, Art & Design, Biography & Memoir, Science & Nature
- DDC/MDS
- 914.23751 — History & geography Geography & travel Geography of and travel in Europe England and Wales Southwestern England and Channel Islands Cornwall Penwith West Penwith
- LCC
- DA670 .C8 .C72 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Great Britain History of Great Britain England Local history and description Counties, regions, etc., A-Z
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 72
- Popularity
- 435,358
- Rating
- (4.17)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 2
