Combining the excitement of a novel with the authenticity of a historical document, this gripping book chronicles a castle's rise from obscurity to international attention during the nineteenth century. It profiles a fictional fortress, La Roche-Pont, for an unusual survey of the evolving art of siege warfare--from Gallic tribes attempting to hold off the might of the Roman empire through medieval feuds, protracted religious conflicts of the seventeenth century, and the Napoleonic and Franco-Prussian Wars.The noted architect Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879) was in a unique position to write this book. A central figure in France's Gothic Revival, Viollet-le-Duc had a second career in the military that included a prominent role in the defense of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s. With this accessible, well-researched study, he exerted an enduring influence on French military defensive thinking. Subtle and enchanting in its blend of fact and fiction, Annals of a Fortress continues to offer a brilliant evocation of more than 2,000 years of European warfare.
