Tower of London - Wonders of Man Author:Christopher Hibbert Vast, gloomy, and aloof from the bustling activity of the modern capital, the Tower of London has played a pivotal role in the history of England. Shortly after the battle of Hastings in 1066, William of Normandy erected the White Tower to consolidate his hold over his newly won island kingdom. — Over the span of the next nine hundred years, suce... more »ssive English monarchs transformed the fortress into a royal residence, a state prison, a menagerie, a mint, and finally an armory and a repository for the crown jewels. TOWER OF LONDON eloquently describes the monument's tumultous past-the political intrigues and religious crises, the fires, the bombings and mob violence, the coronation processions and sumptous banquets, the grim scenes of torture and death, the escape attempts and the dramatic stays of execution. The Tower has served as a stage for the entrances and the exits of such celebrated personalities as Henry VIII, Sir Thomas More, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Elizabeth I, and Sir Walter Ralegh.
Supplementing the narrative are some one hundred illustrations -- one-half in full color. Modern photographs, especially commisioned for this volume, have been juxtaposed with historical portraits, manuscript illuminations, old engravings sketches and paintings.
A special section, THE TOWER OF LONDON IN LITERATURE, includes excerpts from works by such famous writers as Shakespeare, Maxwell Anderson, Samuel Pepys, Sir Walter Scott, and Alfred Lord Tennyson-all of whom were inspired by the vast fortress. A reference section - including a chronology of English history, a guide to the numberous structures that comprise the Tower complex, a genealogical chart of England's royal houses, and a selected bibliography - concludes the volume.« less