Together, England, Scotland and Wales possess one of the largest and most impressive collections of castles anywhere in the world. They have had a key role in British history and the names of many of them - Kenilworth, Edinburgh, Bodiam, Stirling, Harlech, Tintagel, Berkeley and Warwick - are synonymous with romance, battle and intrigue.
Johnson traces each stage of the development of Britain's castles from Norman times through Plantagenet and Edwardian expansion in Wales, Tudor strengthening of the coastal defences, the appalling devastation of the Civil War, and the gradual decay of the once crucial castle until the creation of extraordinary mock castles like Castle Drogo in Devon and Castell Coch in Wales during the 19th century.
