Withe & Stone (Deluxe Edition)

On a beach in a pre-industrial British village, two small children appear, that everyone sees, but no one remembers. Lost traditions play themselves out on the stage of the seasons, as the villagers live their stories of love, loss, healing, humor, and adventure. An old woman brews and bottles hope, peace, and truth. A miller's daughter finds unwanted drama in suspicious newcomers. A young boy becomes embroiled in a quest of elderly mystery lovers. A roof thatcher is haunted by a straw fox and a tragic puzzle. A little girl spins tales for the forest creatures. A widower who lives in a tree writes it all down. The villagers of Withe and Stone tell their tales, without realizing just how different their world is from ours, where the traditional faiths of pagan Europe stayed dominant, evolving into a peaceful agrarian society, and where two small children whom everyone sees, and no one remembers, read the spell of the world, and use their magic to keep this universe from slipping away. John Goldsberry presents a world co-created with his late wife Jan, to tell stories without villains, epic struggles, torrid romance, or violence. Rather, these are the experiences of everyday people, facing what life deals to us all, and what could be if we woke to see the magic that we really are.This Deluxe Edition is printed on heavy white paper stock and includes 42 original color paintings by Jan Goldsberry, which served as the inspiration for and even mentioned in the stories.