"Ludlow, with its dramatic Norman castle, fine Tudor and Georgian buildings, towering parish church and bustling market square, is one of England's most beautifully preserved and yet vibrant small towns.In the Middle Ages the castle was a stronghold of the Marcher Lords and a thriving centre for marketing and cloth manufacture. Under the Tudors and Stuarts, Ludlow was seen as the capital of Wales, while in the 18th century it was renowned for its 'very good company' and 'abundance of pretty women'. The 19th century saw Ludlow's great law suit 'which nearly ruined the town' while the last chapter brings the story right up to the 21st century.The great strength of the book lies in its informative and often entertaining detail, its broad overview and mass of illustrations. We read of the piety of such medieval Ludlovians as Agnes Orm who in 1304 left 1d to each of the 60 clerks to 'sing psalms for her soul'; of Mary Derby who was strapped to the ducking stool in 1600 for being a 'drunkard and a common scold'; and of John Hall who sold his wife by public auction at Ludlow market in 1814."