The wonderfully atmospheric life story of a fortress Colorfully charts the development of fortification and the art of the siege This brilliant evocative work is one of the greatest and most unusual books ever written on siewarfare and fortifications. In prose, Viollet-le-Duc recreates the life of a French castle from its obscure origins to its fate in the Franco-Prussian War. As an architect and experienced military engineer Viollet-le-Duc was uniquely placed to write on the history of fortifications. In Annals of a Fortress he examines the life of the imaginery castle of La Roche-Pont as it endures numerous protracted and bitter sieges. Viollet-le-Duc was a noted military engineer, serving in the Franco-Prussian War, and architectural historian. He was the author of Military Architecture.