It has been brought to my belated attention that Castle is being shown again tonight on Discovery History - though apparently not the last episode, which featured Raglan Castle. A pity, since that was one of my favourites; also, I happen to be in South Wales this evening, ready to lead a tour of Raglan first thing tomorrow morning...

Anyone who has found this page having watched the series should note that the book has just come back into print in a handsome new paperback edition!

Another review for the Norman Conquest, from last week's Morpeth Herald.

http://www.morpethherald.co.uk/lifestyle/battles-in-worlds-of-fact-and-fiction-1-4646327

The Norman Conquest has been given a five-star review in the Mail on Sunday:

‘Grips not only as a work of narrative history but also as a sleuthing exercise... Morris has captured the triumph and tragedy of this tumultuous era with verve, insight and a rollicking narrative.’

After a long hard slog, my book on castles - the imaginatively entitled Castle - comes back into print today, and should be available in all discerning bookshops. Bodiam, the cover star on the original version, has been relegated to the back cover, making way for the mighty great tower of Rochester, a castle even closer to my heart. I was apparently taken round it almost every weekend in my pushchair...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Castle-History-Buildings-Medieval-Britain/dp/0099558491/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336036055&sr=8-1

My next public appearance will be in Leominster on 12 May, at the Mortimer History Society's Spring Conference. For more details see www.mortimerhistorysociety.org.uk/forth.html

The podcast I did last month on the Conquest for BBC History Magazine has just gone live. Didn't detect any obvious howlers on listening to it, but I'm sure readers will correct me in due course. Do have more ums and ahs than Robert Peston, however...

http://www.historyextra.com/podcast/26th-april-2012

The Norman Conquest is Book of the Month in the May issue of BBC History Magazine, which came out today. Prof Nick Higham writes:

Marc Morris’s new book is an exciting arrival... a strong and often gripping story, developed with enormous verve, a clear sense of direction and considerable confidence... carries the reader on a spirited ride across the subject... a stimulating history which has both some new dimensions and internal coherence... an attractive volume which offers a good, detailed introduction to the subject. Morris is committed to teasing out what he thinks the evidence is saying and he writes well.