Author Description

b>A Castle in the Wilderness: The Story of the Banff Springs Hotel is the definitive historical record of one of the world's most famous mountain resorts. This impeccably researched book navigates the hotel's early history from its construction by the Canadian Pacific Railway to the glittering era of the 1920s through to the changes of modern times. Local author and historian Bart Robinson has been exploring and writing about the Banff Springs Hotel since the 1970s. In A Castle in the Wilderness he combines a complete hotel history with rich anecdotes and snippets of the past that have enriched Banff and indeed Canada, from the hotel s links to the construction of the transcontinental rail line to the visits of maharajahs and movie stars. A Castle in the Wilderness is also a photo collection like no other, capturing the hotel's long and colourful history in over a century s worth of imagery including by well-known photographers such as Bruno Engler and Nicholas Morant that bring the hotel's storied history to life. How did such a gracious hotel come to be in the wilds of the Canadian Rockies? How much did it cost to build? Who designed it? Who selected its furnishings? Which famous visitors has it hosted? And why is now known as the Fairmont Banff Springs? These and many more questions are answered in A Castle in the Wilderness. About Summerthought Publishing: Summerthought was founded in 1971 in Banff with the publication of the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide. We remain a vibrant, proudly independent Banff publisher producing books about the Canadian Rockies. Our writers and illustrators are all locals, mostly experts in their fields, and our books are printed here in Canada.