Book excerpt: Lost Inverness, using many images which have never before been published, explores the lost architectural heritage of the capital of the Highlands. The list of vanished buildings and streets is a long one. The medieval town was gutted by our mid-Victorian ancestors in a frenzy of redevelopment, without a trace of sentimentality, and in the process many fine public buildings were created. Sadly, the post-war 'improvements' in the town centre, especially in the 1960s, have left an embarrassing legacy of architectural blight. Fortunately many fascinating old photographs and drawings survive, allowing us to celebrate much of what has been lost. This book draws on the resources of Highland archives, libraries and museums to create a memorable record of a missing urban landscape, from the speculative sites of Pictish forts and Macbeth's castle, to Queen Mary's house and the old suspension bridge below Inverness Castle, itself blown up by the Jacobites in 1746 and replaced by the 1830s prison and courthouse. This book will appeal to all who know the city of Inverness, whether as natives or visitors, and to exiles everywhere, as it revives memories of shops, offices and public buildings now replaced by a homogenised streetscape.