Victoria L. McAlister is Assistant Professor of History at Southeast Missouri State University

'This is a well-produced and attractive book, and McAlister has demonstrated her ability to write in a clear and accessible fashion, creating a text that is sure to be consulted by anyone engaged in the study of castles in late medieval Ireland.'Antiquity'This is an informative and refreshing approach to tower house studies […] This will become an important book for anyone studying many aspects of medieval and early modern Ireland.'Ulster Archaeological Society'McAlister’s volume is ambitious and sets out to do what it intended, and is undoubtedly a valuable contribution to the study of tower houses – indeed it is the first large scale work to focus solely on tower houses, something which came of a surprise to the reviewer. Any reader will come away with a richer understanding of these ubiquitous structures on the Irish landscape.'The Standing Stone'[…] a well-researched and useful study of the economy of Ireland during this period and the place of the tower house in that economy.'Vernacular Architecture

• Introduction1 Around the castle wall: the tower house complex and rural settlement2 The medieval agrarian economy: lifeblood of the tower house3 Rivers in pre-modern Ireland: environment and economy4 Movement, transport and communication: tower houses and waterways5 ‘Urban’ tower houses6 Tower houses, late medieval Ireland and the connection with the wider worldConclusion: the social, economic and environmental contexts of the Irish tower houseIndex