“No one knows castles better than John Goodall...The book is well-written: expert but always intelligible; conversational but never condescending.”—Marc Morris, BBC History Magazine

The castle has long had a pivotal place in British life, associated with lordship, landholding, and military might, and today it remains a powerful symbol of history. But castles have never been merely impressive fortresses—they were hubs of life, activity, and imagination.

John Goodall weaves together the history of the British castle across the span of a millennium, from the eleventh to the twenty-first century, through the voices of those who witnessed it. Drawing on chronicles, poems, letters, and novels, including the work of figures like Gawain Poet, Walter Scott, Evelyn Waugh, and P. G. Wodehouse, Goodall explores the importance of the castle in our culture and society.

30 display packs are available to request from Yale University Press. Packs include:

• 2x hardback copies of The Castle for the library
• Pack of bookmarks
• Printable A4 poster pdf
• Downloadable digital assets for social media

The best display will win 1 copy of The English Castle by John Goodall (RRP £60). Order below by Tuesday 31 May.

A message from the author:

“If this book has a fundamental aim it is to encourage people to appreciate, enjoy and value castles more fully than before. One measure of its success would simply be that it inspires readers to go out and look at castles in the field afresh. They might even take this book with them. In this regard I would conclude with a slightly quixotic observation. I think it's very easy to feel confident—through steadily more sophisticated archaeological investigation and in-depth historical research—in our ever-growing, collective knowledge of these buildings. That growth of understanding is real and exciting but what still strikes me most as I walk round castles, however, is how much of their history is irrecoverably lost. Indeed, the more we know, the more apparent the sheer scale of our ignorance. This book will not only hopefully allow readers to confront that void without feeling overwhelmed by it, but to relish what we do know about these buildings in spite of it. –John Goodall”