Circle of Stones (21 page)

Author's Note

I have always been fascinated by the King's Circus at Bath. The whole city has a peculiarly golden air, a sense of mysteries around corners, but this circular street intrigues by its completeness, and its strange symbolic carvings. I wasn't surprised that its architect, John Wood the Elder, was influenced by druidic theories and ideas of sacred measurement.

I wanted to experiment a little in this novel; to wrap three strands of story around one another, so that they never quite touch, but echo themes and images. I used some of the realities of John Wood's life, but changed things and invented others, so that Jonathan Forrest is a fictional creation, based only partly on fact. Bladud is mythical; his tale can be found in old chronicles. And Sulis is a story of my own.

Myth, fiction, fact. The three points of the triangle. One turns into another, so that what the truth is, is never wholly certain. I hope this novel has captured some of that enigma, that circling around events and places. And I hope, one day, that you who read it will visit the Waters of Sulis for yourselves.

Catherine Fisher

About the Author

Catherine Fisher
is a critically acclaimed author and poet and was named the first Young People's Laureate for Wales. She graduated from the University of Wales with a degree in English and a fascination for myth and history, and has worked in education and archaeology and as a lecturer in creative writing. Her genre-busting novels, like the
New York Times
bestselling
Incarceron
and
Sapphique,
have given her the reputation of being “one of today's best fantasy writers,” as noted by the London
Independent
. Ms. Fisher lives in Wales in the United Kingdom.