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Le château des tempêtes
In order to get away from the married doctor she had fallen in love with, Susan Moore took a job as a private psychiatric nurse on Sanctuary Island, at Duncarlie Castle. The castle had been brought over stone by stone from Scotland and people said it wasn't haunted.... But if there were no ghosts, there were tragedies which still held sway over the castle and its inhabitants. And Sanctuary Island was a sanctuary only for the birds who lived there, watched over by the enigmatic Park Ranger, Ross Hunter.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1965
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About the author
Marion Zimmer Bradley
806 books4,910 followersMarion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series, often with a feminist outlook.
Bradley's first published novel-length work was Falcons of Narabedla, first published in the May 1957 issue of Other Worlds. When she was a child, Bradley stated that she enjoyed reading adventure fantasy authors such as Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett, especially when they wrote about "the glint of strange suns on worlds that never were and never would be." Her first novel and much of her subsequent work show their influence strongly.
Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, Marion Zimmer Bradley produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels. For example, I Am a Lesbian was published in 1962. Though relatively tame by today's standards, they were considered pornographic when published, and for a long time she refused to disclose the titles she wrote under these pseudonyms.
Her 1958 story The Planet Savers introduced the planet of Darkover, which became the setting of a popular series by Bradley and other authors. The Darkover milieu may be considered as either fantasy with science fiction overtones or as science fiction with fantasy overtones, as Darkover is a lost earth colony where psi powers developed to an unusual degree. Bradley wrote many Darkover novels by herself, but in her later years collaborated with other authors for publication; her literary collaborators have continued the series since her death.
Bradley took an active role in science-fiction and fantasy fandom, promoting interaction with professional authors and publishers and making several important contributions to the subculture.
For many years, Bradley actively encouraged Darkover fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories. As a result, the novel remained unpublished, and Bradley demanded the cessation of all Darkover fan fiction.
Bradley was also the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which encouraged submissions of fantasy stories featuring original and non-traditional heroines from young and upcoming authors. Although she particularly encouraged young female authors, she was not averse to including male authors in her anthologies. Mercedes Lackey was just one of many authors who first appeared in the anthologies. She also maintained a large family of writers at her home in Berkeley. Ms Bradley was editing the final Sword and Sorceress manuscript up until the week of her death in September of 1999.
Probably her most famous single novel is The Mists of Avalon. A retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, it grew into a series of books; like the Darkover series, the later novels are written with or by other authors and have continued to appear after Bradley's death.
Her reputation has been posthumously marred by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.
(from Wikipedia)
Bradley's first published novel-length work was Falcons of Narabedla, first published in the May 1957 issue of Other Worlds. When she was a child, Bradley stated that she enjoyed reading adventure fantasy authors such as Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett, especially when they wrote about "the glint of strange suns on worlds that never were and never would be." Her first novel and much of her subsequent work show their influence strongly.
Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, Marion Zimmer Bradley produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels. For example, I Am a Lesbian was published in 1962. Though relatively tame by today's standards, they were considered pornographic when published, and for a long time she refused to disclose the titles she wrote under these pseudonyms.
Her 1958 story The Planet Savers introduced the planet of Darkover, which became the setting of a popular series by Bradley and other authors. The Darkover milieu may be considered as either fantasy with science fiction overtones or as science fiction with fantasy overtones, as Darkover is a lost earth colony where psi powers developed to an unusual degree. Bradley wrote many Darkover novels by herself, but in her later years collaborated with other authors for publication; her literary collaborators have continued the series since her death.
Bradley took an active role in science-fiction and fantasy fandom, promoting interaction with professional authors and publishers and making several important contributions to the subculture.
For many years, Bradley actively encouraged Darkover fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories. As a result, the novel remained unpublished, and Bradley demanded the cessation of all Darkover fan fiction.
Bradley was also the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which encouraged submissions of fantasy stories featuring original and non-traditional heroines from young and upcoming authors. Although she particularly encouraged young female authors, she was not averse to including male authors in her anthologies. Mercedes Lackey was just one of many authors who first appeared in the anthologies. She also maintained a large family of writers at her home in Berkeley. Ms Bradley was editing the final Sword and Sorceress manuscript up until the week of her death in September of 1999.
Probably her most famous single novel is The Mists of Avalon. A retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, it grew into a series of books; like the Darkover series, the later novels are written with or by other authors and have continued to appear after Bradley's death.
Her reputation has been posthumously marred by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 11, 2020
MEH! This started out as a classic horror story but ended up being a bad drama. I loved the beginning; it had this typical eerie and atmospheric feeling of a haunted house story to it. But unfortunately it soon turned into this weird family drama with a touch of mystery. What I disliked the most, were the characters. Badly written and with no depth whatsoever! The protagonist was literally unbearable with her moral pointing finger giving off this vibe of You-ain't-worth-my-time-bitch while being stupid and unlikeable at the same time. It was all super fake and superficial. I still kept reading, hoping the ending would make up for the rest of the book but the ending was even worse than these colorless, unlively characters. All the bla-bla, big secret, bla bla again, and THIS is how you end the story? What a lame ending! Nope, didn't like this book one bit.
December 17, 2017
I read quite a few of MZB's fantasy and sci fi books when I was in high school, so I when I saw she had written a few Gothics, I was curious to see what her take on the genre was. Pretty much the same as everyone else's, as it turns out. If there was a checklist of Gothic tropes and cliches, this book would check most of the boxes, although that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's the tropes and cliches, when handled just right, that make this old genre so much fun.
On a positive note, the writing was pretty good, the heroine only had a couple of obligatory TSTL moments and as a bonus for this reader, the setting was a reconstructed castle surrounded by a bird sanctuary. And there are even a few bird mentions, such as when the characters go off to look for migrating American Golden Plover.
Now as for our checklist of cliches...if you find yourself the heroine in a Gothic novel:
1. If there are two potential love interests, one will be rude and arrogant and one will be friendly. The friendly one will be the bad guy. (check!)
2. Despite having accepted the job of governess/companion/nurse to get over a broken heart, you will find yourself feeling attracted to both of them (check!)
3. If someone tells you to ignore everything someone says because they're bad or crazy, you had better take notes because the bad or crazy one's ramblings will contain the key to the whole mystery. (check!)
4. If you feel someone was watching you in the night or wandering around even though the doors are locked, duh, it's the secret passageways. (check!)
5. If someone sends you a mysterious but urgent note that they must talk to you alone, AT ONCE!, despite the late hour or the howling weather, it's a trap, but you will suffer your obligatory TSTL moment and go anyway. (check!)
6. If there are cliffs along the beach and people warn you about quicksand or treacherous tides, the climax of the book will take place there. (check!)
All in all, a three star read, mildly entertaining but very typical of the genre. My three star rating is based solely on that. This is me being fair to the book. Because I felt angry and uncomfortable while I read it and struggled to finish...because of what I know about the author.** This actually surprised me, because normally I don't have a problem separating a creative work from the author or artist.
While there is no explicit abuse in this book, the plot involves a mother who is threatening and isolating her daughter in order to keep her own crimes covered up. When the heroine (a nurse) begins to suspect this, at first she thinks, "Only a monster would harm their own child," and then reflects (this is all paraphrased, I'm not going back to find the exact quotes), "I did see children who'd been beaten or raped by their parents when I was working as a nurse, but their parents were monsters." After that, I couldn't forget the author and get back into the story, knowing what she herself was involved in. Instead I just kept getting mad about it. One star for my actual enjoyment of reading the book.
**MZB abetted her husband in preying on underaged boys, and has been accused by her children as being an abuser as well.
On a positive note, the writing was pretty good, the heroine only had a couple of obligatory TSTL moments and as a bonus for this reader, the setting was a reconstructed castle surrounded by a bird sanctuary. And there are even a few bird mentions, such as when the characters go off to look for migrating American Golden Plover.
Now as for our checklist of cliches...if you find yourself the heroine in a Gothic novel:
1. If there are two potential love interests, one will be rude and arrogant and one will be friendly. The friendly one will be the bad guy. (check!)
2. Despite having accepted the job of governess/companion/nurse to get over a broken heart, you will find yourself feeling attracted to both of them (check!)
3. If someone tells you to ignore everything someone says because they're bad or crazy, you had better take notes because the bad or crazy one's ramblings will contain the key to the whole mystery. (check!)
4. If you feel someone was watching you in the night or wandering around even though the doors are locked, duh, it's the secret passageways. (check!)
5. If someone sends you a mysterious but urgent note that they must talk to you alone, AT ONCE!, despite the late hour or the howling weather, it's a trap, but you will suffer your obligatory TSTL moment and go anyway. (check!)
6. If there are cliffs along the beach and people warn you about quicksand or treacherous tides, the climax of the book will take place there. (check!)
All in all, a three star read, mildly entertaining but very typical of the genre. My three star rating is based solely on that. This is me being fair to the book. Because I felt angry and uncomfortable while I read it and struggled to finish...because of what I know about the author.** This actually surprised me, because normally I don't have a problem separating a creative work from the author or artist.
While there is no explicit abuse in this book, the plot involves a mother who is threatening and isolating her daughter in order to keep her own crimes covered up. When the heroine (a nurse) begins to suspect this, at first she thinks, "Only a monster would harm their own child," and then reflects (this is all paraphrased, I'm not going back to find the exact quotes), "I did see children who'd been beaten or raped by their parents when I was working as a nurse, but their parents were monsters." After that, I couldn't forget the author and get back into the story, knowing what she herself was involved in. Instead I just kept getting mad about it. One star for my actual enjoyment of reading the book.
**MZB abetted her husband in preying on underaged boys, and has been accused by her children as being an abuser as well.
April 5, 2025
Die junge Krankenschwester Susan ist unglücklich in ihren Vorgesetzten verliebt. Da kommt ihr das Angebot, als Privatschwester für eine geistesgestörte 16jährige zu arbeiten gerade recht. Denn wie könnte sie noch mehr Abstand zu ihm gewinnen als auf der abgelegenen Insel Sanctuary Island? Schon bei ihrer Ankunft merkt Susan, dass die Familienverhältnisse auf der Insel mehr als nur ein wenig seltsam sind. Niemand scheint sich wirklich um ihren Schützling zu sorgen deren Mutter, eine ehemalige Bühnenschauspielerin einen reichen und alten Mann aus offensichtlichen Gründen geheiratet hat. Dann ist da noch der junge Vogelforscher Ross, der auf jedes weibliche Wesen auf der Insel ein Auge geworfen hat und dem auch Susan nicht widerstehen kann.
Susan merkt bald, dass Deidres Krankheit etwas mit einem Verbrechen zu tun haben muss, das vor vielen Jahren auf der Insel geschah. Damals wurde die frühere Krankenschwester des Mädchens tot aufgefunden. Sie möchte ihrer Patientin helfen und beginnt Nachforschungen anzustellen. Doch damit bringt sie sich und ihren Schützling in tödliche Gefahr.
Die Geschichte beginnt mit dem Klischee der Krankenschwester, die sich in ihren Chef verliebt und strotzt auch im weiteren Verlauf von gerne genutzten Motiven: einsame Insel, reicher alter Mann mit junger Frau, ein verwirrtes Mädchen das von einem furchtbaren Geheimnis weiß etc. Wenn man das alles erst mal beiseite lässt und ignoriert, dass Susan sich manchmal mehr Gedanken um ihre äußere Erscheinung als um ihren Schützling macht ist das Buch eine unterhaltsame Lektüre. Sicher weiß man schon sehr früh wer hinter dem Ganzen steckt, kann aber trotzdem das ganze Bild erst sehr spät sehen. Wer wie ich in das Buch nicht zu viele Erwartungen steckt kann auch nicht enttäuscht werden.
Susan merkt bald, dass Deidres Krankheit etwas mit einem Verbrechen zu tun haben muss, das vor vielen Jahren auf der Insel geschah. Damals wurde die frühere Krankenschwester des Mädchens tot aufgefunden. Sie möchte ihrer Patientin helfen und beginnt Nachforschungen anzustellen. Doch damit bringt sie sich und ihren Schützling in tödliche Gefahr.
Die Geschichte beginnt mit dem Klischee der Krankenschwester, die sich in ihren Chef verliebt und strotzt auch im weiteren Verlauf von gerne genutzten Motiven: einsame Insel, reicher alter Mann mit junger Frau, ein verwirrtes Mädchen das von einem furchtbaren Geheimnis weiß etc. Wenn man das alles erst mal beiseite lässt und ignoriert, dass Susan sich manchmal mehr Gedanken um ihre äußere Erscheinung als um ihren Schützling macht ist das Buch eine unterhaltsame Lektüre. Sicher weiß man schon sehr früh wer hinter dem Ganzen steckt, kann aber trotzdem das ganze Bild erst sehr spät sehen. Wer wie ich in das Buch nicht zu viele Erwartungen steckt kann auch nicht enttäuscht werden.
November 1, 2022
I've read better mysteries on a poptart ingrediant list.
December 14, 2015
Although published in 1994, Marion wrote this book in 1965 which goes a long way in my forgiveness of a character attitude I have started to REALLY dislike in books. When I read the following quote on page 32 "He was, I decided, quite the rudest and most arrogant man I'd ever known.", I knew that before the book was done she would be in love with him. Sure enough, on page 150 our leading female is asking herself "Was I falling in love with Brant?". Unlike some books I have read, this woman gets the benefit of the reader having seen interactions between the characters which could legitimately lead to such a change of heart, and she never actually pulls the 'falls into his arms' nonsense that ruins many a strong female lead.
February 18, 2014
Since I'm used to thinking of Marion Zimmer Bradley as a fantasy and sci-fi author, this was very different.
Alos, a major product of it's times; it has not aged well.
Still, she remains a good writer, no matter what the genre.
Alos, a major product of it's times; it has not aged well.
Still, she remains a good writer, no matter what the genre.
January 29, 2014
An enjoyable read, a quick read and quite exciting. My only qualm is that the ending seemed so obvious by chapter three and so I spent the rest of the book getting mad that none of the characters could see it.
January 19, 2016
Did not know this book so old. I loved it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews