Books like Strongholds of the Picts — picked by fans

This book has so many different elements—humor, the struggles of poverty, Cassandra’s dreams of success as a writer, quirky family members, and a tumbledown castle where the Mortmain family lives.

I identified with Cassandra’s efforts to keep a journal to hone her writing skills, having done so myself as a teen. I also enjoyed the unconventional take on a castle and Cassandra’s honesty in depicting (or “capturing”) it and its inhabitants with her words.

The dilapidated castle and the family’s foibles make this story approachable and enjoyable. It is one that invites the reader into the castle and the story as a welcome guest.

This book is essential to understanding the feudal system, and how life revolved around the myriad castles dotted throughout the countryside of England and Wales.

They focus on one castle in particular, but the structure of the society around the castle was somewhat universal, with the lord and lady of the castle, to the workers in the castle, the village that was nearby that would take refuge inside the castle walls if necessary during battles.

I found this an essential book when I was researching my book, which features a castle named Wodesley. What would meals be like there, entertainment, daily life?

This is a vivid, dramatic and well-paced version of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It is set in a legendary time full of castles such as Tintagel, or as here: "Meanwhile Sir Lancelot had lain six days and six nights prisoned in the vault below Sir Meliagraunce’s castle, and every day there came a maiden who opened the trap and let food and drink down to him on the end of a silken cord. And every day she whispered to him, sweet and tempting…" I love the resonance of Sutcliff’s writing; rereading it just now, I couldn’t resist reading it out loud just for the beauty of the sound of the language—something I’m very conscious of because I write poetry.

This is fantasy right up to date: for 8 to 12-year-olds, it was published in 2021. Its castle setting immediately defines it as fantasy: "Beyond the castle’s moat, the deep, dark forest was shot through with trails of sunlight, tracing golden paths of possibility…. The dark-haired girl… sat, bare feet dangling against stone, on the windowsill of her tower bedroom." It’s a vivid picture, instantly engaging us in a world where family is very important. The heroine, Cordelia, is one of three triplets. Their task is to use their magical powers to find and mend the Raven Crown so that the parched land beyond the forest can be healed of the fighting that rampages across it, and people and the natural world live in peace—themes I feel very much in sympathy with.

Don't worry if you really don't care about housing in London or Liverpool: you should read this book about what happens when a country gives high-rise housing its best shot, and then messes things up. It is partly a cautionary tale about what happens when support for ambitious housing projects is killed by right-wing politicians, but also a tribute to the people who thought at first they'd died and gone to heaven when they got a flat with inside plumbing.  

Liverpool’s Architecture represents all schools, styles, and tastes, and this book captures exactly that using glorious colour plates for each of the 226 buildings in the book. Each image is supported by a readable but detailed write-up on the history of the building, and an analysis of its style and composition. It also talks about the respective architects, and gives dates and other statistical information where appropriate.

I love this book because it is a tour-de-force by a respected historian and architect who loved his work, and who loved his city. This shows in the book.

Hard to imagine now, but when Tess Johnston arrived in Shanghai as an American diplomat in 1981, no one was researching or writing much about Old Shanghai. Fascinated by the city’s old Western buildings, she collaborated with Shanghainese photographer Deke Erh to piece together the stories behind the once-grand architecture. Photographed in the 1980s and ’90s, A Last Look provides a provocative visual history of Old Shanghai, accompanied by succinct text penned in Johnston’s personable style. This oeuvre is not only an appealing entrée into a lost era but has become a precious remembrance, as many of its subject buildings and neighborhoods have since been demolished. Although the book is out of print, it’s worth ordering a used copy.

This is the first book that inspired me whilst learning the art of timber framing.

It was my constant companion in the early days because of the wealth of information within this small but perfectly formed paperback. It provides details on joints, construction techniques, and different styles of building.

The book is filled with many beautifully hand-drawn illustrations that bring it alive. A must have!

Two of the biggest names in twentieth-century architecture. Thoroughly researched, Neumeyer’s book explores the thought processes of the first, the generally taciturn German architect Mies van der Rohe. It includes a discussion of his fascination with traditional African architecture and its clear relationship between form and the constructional potential of specific materials (timber, grass, stone, rope, mud…) which of course translates into Mies’s own work with modern materials (welded steel and plate glass). But there is a lot more to this book than that; too much to cover here.

I recommend A Philosopher Looks at Architecture by Paul Guyer because it illuminates how the built environment reflects the deeper forces that also shape international relations: identity, ethics, technological change, and our evolving understanding of human dignity.

Guyer’s exploration of architectural principles (good construction, utility, and beauty) reveals why societies design the spaces they do and how those choices mirror political power, cultural values, and collective aspirations. In an era when emerging technologies and new strategic domains are reshaping global order, understanding architecture as a philosophical and ethical practice becomes essential.

Guyer’s book reminds us that the structures we build, on Earth or beyond it, are expressions of what we prioritise and how we negotiate competing interests – making it a valuable lens on the forces driving world politics today.