Physical description

Hard cover book. The Fortress
Author: Hugh Walpole
Publisher: Macmillan and Co., Limited
Date: 1934
Further Information: Dark green cloth, blind-stamped border and “W” monogram to binding. The spine has a Library label with an inscription.

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on the spine with the typed text PAT FIC WAL
Paste down front end paper has a sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Service
Inside loose paper has a stamp from the stamp from the Warrnambool Public Library

Summary

The Fortress is the third novel in Walpole’s Herries Chronicles, which follow the branches of the Herries family in the 19th-century Lake District. The story centres on a bitter feud between the branch led by Judith Paris and the one led by Walter Herries. Walter wants to drive Judith and Jennifer Herries out, so he builds a great mansion, the Fortress, on a hill overlooking their house. Elizabeth, Walter’s kind daughter, is caught between family hostility and her love for Jennifer’s son John. John is then persecuted by his wife’s brother, which leads to a tragic confrontation. The saga covers about fifty years, from a summer fair at Keswick to Queen Victoria’s coronation.