Flint

Joanne Bourne

‘A very British love-letter to the beauty of flint’ Daily Telegraph

Joanne Bourne has been in awe of flint as long as she can remember.

It was all around her where she grew up in Kent: used for garden walls, to edge drives and weight dustbin lids, as well as to build pubs, churches and castles. For centuries it was the only building stone available.

It is also magical. Made from the remains of plankton and sea sponges, it is second only in hardness to diamonds and can be used to make fire. Part of human development for three million years, it was used as a weapon to hunt and in war, and hung as protection against thunderbolts and fairies.

In a deeply personal love letter to this extraordinary ‘biogenic’ rock, Bourne traces its geological, architectural and social history and invites us to roam with her in search of it on her beloved North Downs.

Fusing science, poetry, history and a profound love of landscape, this is her heartfelt tribute to the stone she calls ‘an art project of the great divine’.

‘If you love walking the English countryside, you will adore this vivid, personal, upbeat book’ Maggie Gee

‘This quirky, enchanting ramble around the flintscapes of the south-east England tells the nigh-mystical story of a stone that has, with quiet majesty, borne witness to all human history’ Daily Telegraph

‘Fascinating, evocative and absorbing, Flint is an absolute joy’ Lara Maiklem, author of Mudlarking

‘Interweaves the factual and fanciful, prehistory, culture, folklore and a profound love of nature’ Saga Magazine

‘Bourne uses her personal journey to frame a larger narrative about humanity’s long relationship with flint’ Geographical

‘Bourne’s enchanting narrative and personal anecdotes bring to life the magic and enduring significance of a stone that has shaped human civilisation for millennia’ Alastair Humphreys, author of Local

‘The most readable book on the earth sciences that I have met in 2024’ Geology Today

Hardback: 224pp

Published: Eye (September 2026)

ISBN: 9781785634086