AA Best of Britain's Castles: 100 of the Most Impressive Historic Sites in Britain (AA Best of Britain's S.)

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They helped put Asheville on the map, and today, Biltmore is one of Asheville’s most iconic attractions for history, hiking, and its winery. George’s library is a must for bibliophiles. There are a lot of measurements in the book, how large the castle is, the size and shape of rooms. It describes what materials were used in building the castle walls. Jaggers's clerk in Great Expectations proves that an Englishman's home can be a castle. His cottage in Walworth has been turned into such – with gothic windows, a gun battery and a flagstaff. He proudly shows Pip how you enter via a drawbridge over a moat. I had a few worries about this book: I thought it might be a bit dry and long winded, it might involve a lot of referencing to the TV show. I didn't need to worry about either as this book was well-written, informative, informal and generally a joy to read. Morris has a style that's like Dan Jones crossed with Bill Bryson. In Castle Builders, Malcolm Hislop looks at the hugely popular subject of castles from the unusual perspective of design and construction. In this general introduction to the subject, we discover something of the personalities behind their creation - the architects and craftsmen - and, furthermore, the techniques they employed, and how style and technology was disseminated. Castle Builders takes both a thematic and a chronological approach to the design and construction of castles, providing the reader with clear lines of development. Themes include earth, timber and stone construction techniques, the evolution of the great tower, the development of military engineering, the progression of domestic accommodation, and the degree to which aesthetics contributed to castle design.

And, of course, quite a few historical fiction romance castle books allow us to time travel throughout history, enticing us with forbidden love, cozy fireplaces, and brooding owners. Some of the best fantasy stories about castles transport us across the globe, especially to places like England and Scotland. If you want to know all about medieval castles, this book is for you. It covers the different designs and possible builders of them, everything from foundation to the towers and decorations. NetGalley, Caidyn YoungThe research that went into this book delves into the building of castles in the Middle Ages. It looks at the ability to defend that specific area from towers, how it sits in relation to water for drinking and travel.

The first gothic novel, Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, naturally took its title from an exemplary Italian castle, complete with a turret-room prison, cloisters and underground passages, whence the beautiful Isabella flees from the tyrant Manfred, lord of the castle and her would-be despoiler. I liked it a lot. A very interesting work both for those who simply seek knowledge on a subject as transcendental as the castles and fortresses, and for those modellers, including myself, who try to document as much as possible when it comes to recreating our constructions in miniature. Do you have favorite stories about castles? Do you enjoy fantastical, romance, or horror castle books more? Let us know in the comments. For his neo-gothic fantasy, Mervyn Peake created the castle to beat all others: utterly dreary and vast and labyrinthine beyond the comprehension of any of its weird denizens. Presided over by Lord Groan, it is a mouldering accumulation of halls, towers and dark corridors.

Children’s books about castles

It was so interesting learning about the different construction and stories behind the creation of castles. My BF is also a huge fan of castles and collects them so it was really neat to share this with him as well. NetGalley, Isla Weston Then, there are nonfiction books on castles, castle life, and nobility that teach us more about history, culture, war, and conflict. Below, we’ve rounded up a mix of books set at castles – historical fiction, romance, graphic novels, nonfiction, and more – for all ages. Marc Morris's book does a similar service in bringing the castle to life through the stories of the people who built them and lived in them, be it Edward I that great and terrible king, or Sir Edward Dallingridge - the kind of man who Shakespeare's Henry V would have hanged for metrcilessly using the excuse of war to pillaging the french countryside - save that Dallingridge lived and died a generation earlier and used his ill-gotten gains to set himself up with a home and a castle. There is nowhere better than Bodiam to bring reality to the phrase an Englishman';s home is his castle.

Overall, very informative. An architect interested in history would greatly enjoy this book. Most of the castles are in England, but there are some from many different places. NetGalley, Tina Cay

Against the pale gray sky Blandings Castle stood out like a mountain. It was a noble pile, of Early Tudor building." As imagined by PG Wodehouse, this glorious Shropshire house is the seat of Clarence, Lord Emsworth, pig-breeder extraordinaire, and a comic playpen for a sequence of eccentric characters. Not only does Kiernan talk about the incredible feat of creating the home, but she discusses the lives of George and Edith, both of whom contributed to politics, education, and forestry. Learn more about the construction of Asheville’s Biltmore Estate, a property owned by George and Edith Vanderbilt. A great reference and academic read covering how castles were constructed in the Middle Ages. The diagrams, detailed information, and top notch bibliography set this book apart from others like it. Researchers in an academic library would only need this text to accomplish in depth research on the topic. It is definitely a more technical read, but that is what makes it such a great resource for researchers. NetGalley, Kelsea Whaley In Kafka's The Castle, K has been appointed as a land surveyor by the rulers of a mysterious castle. He arrives at the town below it and is unimpressed. "As he came closer he was disappointed in the Castle, it was only a rather miserable little town, pieced together from village houses, distinctive only because everything was perhaps built of stone, but the paint had long since flaked off". He spends the entire novel trying unsuccessfully to gain access.

Book of the Month: Get the month’s hottest new and upcoming titles from Book of the Month. You might snag an early release or debut author. Along with selecting a book a month, find terrific add-ons, both trendy and lesser-known titles.Castles offer up the perfect setting for ghosts, murderous acts, and fantastical creatures like vampires and witches. However, many people refer to Biltmore as such, and Kiernan – a local Asheville author– has named her book with a bit of a castle-y flair… This encyclopaedic work provides a comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the Medieval Castle and is likely to become a standard reference work on the subject. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in both castles per se and the ‘Medieval era’ / ‘Middle Ages’ in general. NZ Crown Mines Throughout Castle Builders the reader can sense the respect and affection Hislop has for the personalities and skills of the medieval master builders and their crafts.