John Goodall – författare

From coast to coast, the English landscape is still richly studded with castles both great and small. As homes or ruins, these historic buildings are today largely objects of curiosity. For centuries, however, they were at the heart of the kingdom's social and political life. The English Castle is a riveting architectural study that sets this legion of buildings in historical context, tracing their development from the Norman Conquest in 1066 through the civil wars of the 1640s. In this magnificent, compellingly written volume, which includes over 350 illustrations, John Goodall brings to life the history of the English castle over six centuries. In it he explores the varied architecture of these buildings and describes their changing role in warfare, politics, domestic living, and governance.Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

A vibrant history of the castle in Britain, from the early Middle Ages to the present day  The castle has long had a pivotal place in British life, associated with lordship, landholding, and military might, and today it remains a powerful symbol of history. But castles have never been merely impressive fortresses—they were hubs of life, activity, and imagination.  John Goodall weaves together the history of the British castle across the span of a millennium, from the eleventh to the twenty-first century, through the voices of those who witnessed it. Drawing on chronicles, poems, letters, and novels, including the work of figures like Gawain Poet, Walter Scott, Evelyn Waugh, and P. G. Wodehouse, Goodall explores the importance of the castle in our culture and society.  From the medieval period to Civil War engagements, right up to modern manifestations in Harry Potter, Goodall reveals that the castle has always been put to different uses, and to this day continues to serve as a source of inspiration.

Live the romance of the British countryside through this lavish tour of the seasons, landscapes, gardens, and great houses that epitomize British country life, as seen through the eyes of Country Life magazine.For 125 years Country Life has presented its readers with the finest insider’s tour of everything quintessentially British. Now in one volume, this spectacular collection of images offers the best of life in the British countryside, from charming Cotswolds villages to panoramic views across the Yorkshire dales and Glastonbury for readers who will revel in tramping across the heather filled moors to see King Charles’s favorite view in all England, the white cliffs of Dover, and the Dark Hedges of Northern Ireland. Discover on these pages the culture and seasonal activities of country life, whether it be a gentleman farmer showing off his prize cattle, fly fishing in the Scottish highlands, swan upping on the Thames, or cricket on the village green.Country Life is renowned for its unprecedented access to the magnificent castles and palaces, as well as private estates and manor houses that dot the countryside from Dorset to the Scottish highlands, revealing many to its fans for the first time. In this volume readers are treated to the loveliest and most important houses and gardens from the last century, from Holkham Hall, Chatsworth, and Burghley, to Munstead Wood, Sissinghurst, and Kelmscott.This book satisfies readers’ seemingly insatiable desire to capture in their own lives a small slice of the romance of English countryside living.

An enthralling guide to the largely unrecognised treasures of England's remarkable Parish Churches, 'the supreme treasury of English vernacular art and memory'.Our parish churches constitute a living patrimony without precise European parallel. Their cultural riches are astonishing, not only for their quality and quantity, but also their diversity and interest. Fine art and architecture here combine unpredictably with the functional, the curious and the naïve, from prehistory to the present day, to form an unsung national museum which presents its contents in an everyday setting without curators or formal displays.Because church treasures usually remain in the buildings they were created for, properly interpreted they tell from thousands of local perspectives the history of the nation, its people and their changing religious observance.John Goodall's weekly series in Country Life has celebrated particular objects in or around churches that are of outstanding artistic, social or historical importance, to underline both the intrinsic interest of parish churches and the insights that they and their contents offer into English history of every period. Parish Church Treasures incorporates and significantly expands this material to tell afresh the remarkable history of the parish church.It celebrates the special character of churches as places to visit whilst providing an authoritative and up-to-date history at a time when the use and upkeep of these buildings and the care of their contents is highly contentious.

Our parish churches constitute a living patrimony without precise European parallel. Their cultural riches are astonishing, not only for their quality and quantity, but also their diversity and interest. Fine art and architecture here combine unpredictably with the functional, the curious and the naïve, from prehistory to the present day, to form an unsung national museum which presents its contents in an everyday setting without curators or formal displays. Because church treasures usually remain in the buildings they were created for, properly interpreted they tell from thousands of local perspectives the history of the nation, its people and their changing religious observance.John Goodall''s weekly series in Country Life has celebrated particular objects in or around churches that are of outstanding artistic, social or historical importance, to underline both the intrinsic interest of parish churches and the insights that they and their contents offer into English history of every period. Parish Church Treasures incorporates and significantly expands this material to tell afresh the remarkable history of the parish church. It celebrates the special character of churches as places to visit whilst providing an authoritative and up-to-date history at a time when the use and upkeep of these buildings and the care of their contents is highly contentious.

Are we really in control of our destinies? Tehran, 1969. An Assyrian fortune teller, who is well-known for her accurate predictions, informs a young woman, Mahin, that she would soon meet a young man with blond hair and blue eyes and travel the world.John, a British Engineer, is posted on a temporary assignment to Iran to estimate the costs of one of the Shah’s most prestigious construction projects. Following his arrival, he receives an unexpected invitation to the races where he catches sight of a breathtakingly beautiful young woman sitting with her friends. To his utter astonishment she appears to be pointing at him! Stunned by her appearance, and bewildered by her attention, his heart is in his mouth.What follows is a remarkable true story that asks and tentatively answers the question 'Are we really in control of our destinies?' If truth is not only stranger but more compelling than fiction, why read romantic fiction rather than a true story of love, passion and uncontrollable desire, the foretelling of which was as certain as destiny itself?