Book launches and reviews, Spring 2008
Castles of Nottinghamshire by James Wright
Following
several years of research and fieldwork, James Wright's new book Castles
of Nottinghamshire (Nottinghamshire County Council, £5.95)
is a study of the county's lesser known castles, providing a synthesis
of recent archaeological and historical research. It examines their place
in the landscape, their role in both war and peace, how they have survived
today and looks at the current historical, archaeological and architectural
techniques in castle studies. Finally, it provides a gazetteer of all known
castle sites in Nottinghamshire for anyone to visit the surviving remains
for themselves. The publication is available in person from Nottinghamshire
Archives, Nottingham Tourist Information Centre, Nottingham Castle, Waterstones'
bookshop in Nottingham and all libraries in the county, or by post from
Libraries, Archives and Information, Floor 4, County Hall, West Bridgford,
Nottinghamshire, NG2 7QP.
Cavalier: A Tale of Chivalry, Passion and Great Houses by Lucy Worsley
Lucy Worsley's new publication, Cavalier: A Tale of Chivalry, Passion
and Great Houses (£20; ISBN 1596913584), takes as its framework
the life of William Cavendish, Earl (and later Duke) of Newcastle, famous
for his building activities at Bolsover and Nottingham Castles and Welbeck
Abbey. Rather than compete with Geoffrey Trease's earlier traditional
biography, the author presents chronological episodes in Newcastle's
life rather like theatrical scenes, eg the death of his father, Charles
I's visit to Bolsover in 1634, etc. The background and context of each
scene is then described in meticulous detail, dealing with subjects as
diverse as building materials, clothes, jewellery, servants, horses and
stables, etc., in order to build up a picture of what life was like in
a great aristocratic household of the 17th century.