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Castle Garac
Tom Wells, a young American writer, is living on the French Riviera when his money runs out. He meets up with Paul Ehrenhardt, a dapper, obviously wealthy, international type who hires him as his confidential secretary although he has no secretarial duties, but acts more as a Man Friday for some mysterious projects.
Tom's first task is to entertain Anna, Paul's seductive wife, for which he is given a fat expense account and the run of the Riviera gambling casinos and restaurants. His next task is to rent a half-ruined medieval castle in the hills of Provence without letting on who his employer is. And finally he has to find a girl...any girl...who is about nineteen, French, beautiful, blonde, aristocratic in manner, without a family or other ties, and able to disappear for a few months.
Tom is paid handsomely, but, unfortunately for his employer's mysterious scheme, he falls in love with the girl he finds, and is completely distraught when she disappears as planned. Naturally his suspicions turn to the vast, dank, lonely ruins of Castle Garac. So off to the castle he goes...
Tom's first task is to entertain Anna, Paul's seductive wife, for which he is given a fat expense account and the run of the Riviera gambling casinos and restaurants. His next task is to rent a half-ruined medieval castle in the hills of Provence without letting on who his employer is. And finally he has to find a girl...any girl...who is about nineteen, French, beautiful, blonde, aristocratic in manner, without a family or other ties, and able to disappear for a few months.
Tom is paid handsomely, but, unfortunately for his employer's mysterious scheme, he falls in love with the girl he finds, and is completely distraught when she disappears as planned. Naturally his suspicions turn to the vast, dank, lonely ruins of Castle Garac. So off to the castle he goes...
190 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
3 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Monsarrat
92 books89 followersBorn on Rodney Street in Liverpool, Monsarrat was educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge. He intended to practise law. The law failed to inspire him, however, and he turned instead to writing, moving to London and supporting himself as a freelance writer for newspapers while writing four novels and a play in the space of five years (1934–1939). He later commented in his autobiography that the 1931 Invergordon Naval Mutiny influenced his interest in politics and social and economic issues after college.
Though a pacifist, Monsarrat served in World War II, first as a member of an ambulance brigade and then as a member of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). His lifelong love of sailing made him a capable naval officer, and he served with distinction in a series of small warships assigned to escort convoys and protect them from enemy attack. Monsarrat ended the war as commander of a frigate, and drew on his wartime experience in his postwar sea stories. During his wartime service, Monsarrat claimed to have seen the ghost ship Flying Dutchman while sailing the Pacific, near the location where the young King George V had seen her in 1881.
Resigning his wartime commission in 1946, Monsarrat entered the diplomatic service. He was posted at first to Johannesburg, South Africa and then, in 1953, to Ottawa, Canada. He turned to writing full-time in 1959, settling first on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, and later on the Mediterranean island of Gozo (Malta).
Monsarrat's first three novels, published in 1934–1937 and now out of print, were realistic treatments of modern social problems informed by his leftist politics. His fourth novel and first major work, This Is The Schoolroom, took a different approach. The story of a young, idealistic, aspiring writer coming to grips with the "real world" for the first time, it is at least partly autobiographical.
The Cruel Sea (1951), Monsarrat's first postwar novel, is widely regarded as his finest work, and is the only one of his novels that is still widely read. Based on his own wartime service, it followed the young naval officer Keith Lockhart through a series of postings in corvettes and frigates. It was one of the first novels to depict life aboard the vital, but unglamorous, "small ships" of World War II—ships for which the sea was as much a threat as the Germans. Monsarrat's short-story collections H.M.S. Marlborough Will Enter Harbour (1949), and The Ship That Died of Shame (1959) mined the same literary vein, and gained popularity by association with The Cruel Sea.
The similar Three Corvettes (1945 and 1953) comprising H.M. Corvette (set aboard a Flower class corvette in the North Atlantic), East Coast Corvette (as First Lieutenant of HMS Guillemot) and Corvette Command (as Commanding Officer of HMS Shearwater) is actually an anthology of three true-experience stories he published during the war years and shows appropriate care for what the Censor might say. Thus Guillemot appears under the pseudonym Dipper and Shearwater under the pseudonym Winger in the book. H.M. Frigate is similar but deals with his time in command of two frigates. His use of the name Dipper could allude to his formative years when summer holidays were spent with his family at Trearddur Bay. They were members of the famous sailing club based there, and he recounted much of this part of his life in a book My brother Denys. Denys Monserrat was killed in Egypt during the middle part of the war whilst his brother was serving with the Royal Navy. Another tale recounts his bringing his ship into Trearddur Bay during the war for old times' sake.
Monsarrat's more famous novels, notably The Tribe That Lost Its Head (1956) and its sequel Richer Than All His Tribe (1968), drew on his experience in the diplomatic service and make important reference to the colonial experience of Britain in Africa.
Though a pacifist, Monsarrat served in World War II, first as a member of an ambulance brigade and then as a member of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). His lifelong love of sailing made him a capable naval officer, and he served with distinction in a series of small warships assigned to escort convoys and protect them from enemy attack. Monsarrat ended the war as commander of a frigate, and drew on his wartime experience in his postwar sea stories. During his wartime service, Monsarrat claimed to have seen the ghost ship Flying Dutchman while sailing the Pacific, near the location where the young King George V had seen her in 1881.
Resigning his wartime commission in 1946, Monsarrat entered the diplomatic service. He was posted at first to Johannesburg, South Africa and then, in 1953, to Ottawa, Canada. He turned to writing full-time in 1959, settling first on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, and later on the Mediterranean island of Gozo (Malta).
Monsarrat's first three novels, published in 1934–1937 and now out of print, were realistic treatments of modern social problems informed by his leftist politics. His fourth novel and first major work, This Is The Schoolroom, took a different approach. The story of a young, idealistic, aspiring writer coming to grips with the "real world" for the first time, it is at least partly autobiographical.
The Cruel Sea (1951), Monsarrat's first postwar novel, is widely regarded as his finest work, and is the only one of his novels that is still widely read. Based on his own wartime service, it followed the young naval officer Keith Lockhart through a series of postings in corvettes and frigates. It was one of the first novels to depict life aboard the vital, but unglamorous, "small ships" of World War II—ships for which the sea was as much a threat as the Germans. Monsarrat's short-story collections H.M.S. Marlborough Will Enter Harbour (1949), and The Ship That Died of Shame (1959) mined the same literary vein, and gained popularity by association with The Cruel Sea.
The similar Three Corvettes (1945 and 1953) comprising H.M. Corvette (set aboard a Flower class corvette in the North Atlantic), East Coast Corvette (as First Lieutenant of HMS Guillemot) and Corvette Command (as Commanding Officer of HMS Shearwater) is actually an anthology of three true-experience stories he published during the war years and shows appropriate care for what the Censor might say. Thus Guillemot appears under the pseudonym Dipper and Shearwater under the pseudonym Winger in the book. H.M. Frigate is similar but deals with his time in command of two frigates. His use of the name Dipper could allude to his formative years when summer holidays were spent with his family at Trearddur Bay. They were members of the famous sailing club based there, and he recounted much of this part of his life in a book My brother Denys. Denys Monserrat was killed in Egypt during the middle part of the war whilst his brother was serving with the Royal Navy. Another tale recounts his bringing his ship into Trearddur Bay during the war for old times' sake.
Monsarrat's more famous novels, notably The Tribe That Lost Its Head (1956) and its sequel Richer Than All His Tribe (1968), drew on his experience in the diplomatic service and make important reference to the colonial experience of Britain in Africa.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 9, 2019
Number 42 on my list of 50 Encore titles, this book was a nice way to spend a lazy day. Well, I should say it was a nice way to spend the day after I finished my morning garden chores. That sounds much better, doesn't it?
Anyway, I have searched out many Monsarrat titles since I first discovered him years ago. There was never any doubt about keeping this one, I knew I would. But I wanted to read a Monsarrat again and all my other titles had very tiny print. (I remember when that never mattered. Sigh.)
So, here we are in the South of France with Thomas Welles, an American who is waiting for good news from home. Will his agent be able to sell the novel Thomas has spent the last few months writing? We check every day at the Poste-Restante window, but no letter is ever there for us. What will we do? How are we going to eat?
Enter Paul Ehrenhardt and his offer of a job. Sort of a personal secretary/assistant, or at least that is the closest way the man can describe the job. It all seems rather mysterious, but Tom declares that he would do anything short of murder in order for a paycheck. Oh, Tom. Have you no shame?!
Paul's wife approves of Tom, and the next thing he knows he is sent out to the surrounding countryside to search for a specific type of establishment to rent for Ehrenhardt's big project. Could it be a movie? An art project? Tom has no idea, but he is not supposed to ask any questions.
He also is supposed to find a girl for the project. Tom, Tom, what have you gotten yourself into?
This was a quick, interesting read. And while it was not a comical book at all, it was lighter in tone than the other Monsarrat titles I remember reading, and I get the feeling that it may have been an entertaining book for the author to write.
Anyway, I have searched out many Monsarrat titles since I first discovered him years ago. There was never any doubt about keeping this one, I knew I would. But I wanted to read a Monsarrat again and all my other titles had very tiny print. (I remember when that never mattered. Sigh.)
So, here we are in the South of France with Thomas Welles, an American who is waiting for good news from home. Will his agent be able to sell the novel Thomas has spent the last few months writing? We check every day at the Poste-Restante window, but no letter is ever there for us. What will we do? How are we going to eat?
Enter Paul Ehrenhardt and his offer of a job. Sort of a personal secretary/assistant, or at least that is the closest way the man can describe the job. It all seems rather mysterious, but Tom declares that he would do anything short of murder in order for a paycheck. Oh, Tom. Have you no shame?!
Paul's wife approves of Tom, and the next thing he knows he is sent out to the surrounding countryside to search for a specific type of establishment to rent for Ehrenhardt's big project. Could it be a movie? An art project? Tom has no idea, but he is not supposed to ask any questions.
He also is supposed to find a girl for the project. Tom, Tom, what have you gotten yourself into?
This was a quick, interesting read. And while it was not a comical book at all, it was lighter in tone than the other Monsarrat titles I remember reading, and I get the feeling that it may have been an entertaining book for the author to write.
December 23, 2007
This is best categorized as straight-up gothic smut. It has all the plot devices.
1 - penniless American boy meets penniless French girl
2 - rich folks with a diabolical scheme (into which the pennilesses are caught up)
3 - a ruined old castle with a wall and tiny town nearby...
It has the setting.
Nice, France (where Castles are likely to be nearby)
It has the intrigue and mystery, but not so much that you spend the whole time really confused about what's going on.
Thankfully, the author had the sense to wrap up a flimsy plot in a relatively short number of pages, so I was able to read this gem cover to cover in one night. You might not be able to find this book anywhere - I got it from a pile of ancient library discards. If you desperately want to read it, drop me a message and we can arrange a swap or something.
1 - penniless American boy meets penniless French girl
2 - rich folks with a diabolical scheme (into which the pennilesses are caught up)
3 - a ruined old castle with a wall and tiny town nearby...
It has the setting.
Nice, France (where Castles are likely to be nearby)
It has the intrigue and mystery, but not so much that you spend the whole time really confused about what's going on.
Thankfully, the author had the sense to wrap up a flimsy plot in a relatively short number of pages, so I was able to read this gem cover to cover in one night. You might not be able to find this book anywhere - I got it from a pile of ancient library discards. If you desperately want to read it, drop me a message and we can arrange a swap or something.
May 15, 2015
This was a good book. It has twists and turns. As someone else has said in their review there is a rich couple with a scheme. But you can not figure it out! Every time you think you know what they're up to something else happens. The girl in it is likeable up until the end when she turns into a wacko and you just want the main guy to run away from her. But overall it's a really great book and has a nice happy ending. I would recommend.
September 10, 2009
A lightweight traditional gothic mystery. It belonged to the library in 1959 and a patron recently found it on his shelf and returned it. Interesting that one of the major components is a bank going belly up after shady investments.
March 25, 2017
I'd put between 2 and 3 stars. Easy, fast, small read. Very predictable. If it was meant to be a easy fast read, then I give it a 3. If it was meant to me a thriller mystery, keep you on your toes, then I would say a 1 or 2 stars. Nothing I would ever recommend, but no regrets reading it.
January 4, 2012
Had some good parts. Was fairly predictable at times and I felt it ended abruptly.
July 20, 2023
I found this slim novel in a second-hand bookshop (it’s long out of print) and picked it up because I have read Monsarrat’s superb novel of naval warfare during World War II, The Cruel Sea, and was curious to see what the rest of his work was like.
Well, it’s not nearly as good as The Cruel Sea – but then few books are. It’s interesting how some authors have one great book within them, but no more than that. In Monsarrat’s case, it was because in The Cruel Sea he took his wartime experiences and distilled them with his writing craft, making of them a book that endures. But absent such source material, in a book like Castle Garac, and we are left with authorical craft and pure storytelling, but storytelling of its time. It’s interesting how much the simple craft of telling a story is affected by its time and culture, from the rhythm and pace of the prose, through the choice of words, to the subject matter. As such, popular fiction from long ago (this was first published in 1955) is a rather good way of appreciating cultural changes, for good and ill. Far too many people simply go through books like this and pick out things that offend their modern sensibilities without thinking how the sensibilities of the past would be offended in turn.
The story itself is not whodunnit but rather a what-are-they-planning: mysterious rich couple enlist penniless writer for a scheme that’s clearly crooked but the payoff is in learning just how it is crooked. It’s a swift and easy read. If you should see the book, lying neglected in a second-hand book shop, pick it up and read it. You will make an old book very happy.
Well, it’s not nearly as good as The Cruel Sea – but then few books are. It’s interesting how some authors have one great book within them, but no more than that. In Monsarrat’s case, it was because in The Cruel Sea he took his wartime experiences and distilled them with his writing craft, making of them a book that endures. But absent such source material, in a book like Castle Garac, and we are left with authorical craft and pure storytelling, but storytelling of its time. It’s interesting how much the simple craft of telling a story is affected by its time and culture, from the rhythm and pace of the prose, through the choice of words, to the subject matter. As such, popular fiction from long ago (this was first published in 1955) is a rather good way of appreciating cultural changes, for good and ill. Far too many people simply go through books like this and pick out things that offend their modern sensibilities without thinking how the sensibilities of the past would be offended in turn.
The story itself is not whodunnit but rather a what-are-they-planning: mysterious rich couple enlist penniless writer for a scheme that’s clearly crooked but the payoff is in learning just how it is crooked. It’s a swift and easy read. If you should see the book, lying neglected in a second-hand book shop, pick it up and read it. You will make an old book very happy.
June 6, 2018
my first book by this author, it is an entertaining read; a little implausible but intriguing enough to keep my interest. Tom, impoverished and stranded in Europe, awaiting word on acceptance of his novel in New York, is engaged to undertake a strange endeavor by a chance acquaintance, Paul. It is lucrative and intriguing so he accepts the challenge. Once it becomes clear to him that another chance acquaintance, with whom he becomes entranced, Angele, could be endangered he becomes less eager to complete the assignment. The overtures made by Paul's wife Anna are exciting if odd but deemed dangerous by Tom. The adventure has strange and somewhat contrived plot twists but it moves along at a good pace with good action writing. It is from the 50s but isn't unduly dated or weighted with those current events, except for stereotyping a group of people, the Roma. The writing was engaging and quick without dragging on about details, but enough to create the feeling of suspense and being involved.
I'll probably re-read this book or find others by the author.
I'll probably re-read this book or find others by the author.
June 5, 2018
Reminds me of The Magus (which was written a decade later, btw).
Solid gothic suspense. Though, yes, the ending was abrupt. I mostly didn’t mind, because it was tidy and because I sure wanted to know what was going to happen.
Read because: I found a copy looking old on the library shelf and wondered why it hadn’t been weeded. I liked the cover.
Twins in this book: baby twins that Angele nannies for
Solid gothic suspense. Though, yes, the ending was abrupt. I mostly didn’t mind, because it was tidy and because I sure wanted to know what was going to happen.
Read because: I found a copy looking old on the library shelf and wondered why it hadn’t been weeded. I liked the cover.
Twins in this book: baby twins that Angele nannies for
June 16, 2018
Of all the books I got in my patcbox so far I like this one best. I am 10 books behind on reading so there might be still some treasures ahead though. but this book keeps you wondering from the beginning. i didn't see that ending coming at all.
August 26, 2023
I thought it was a good plot but I just wanted a little more when it came to the ending.
October 2, 2023
I picked this up at a used book store based purely on the cover and the plot summary. And I'm glad I did.
It's a great mystery story with gothic trappings. Kept me captivated the entire time. The revelations aren't quite as thrilling as I hoped for, but they're satisfying. I'm glad I stumbled across this.
It's a great mystery story with gothic trappings. Kept me captivated the entire time. The revelations aren't quite as thrilling as I hoped for, but they're satisfying. I'm glad I stumbled across this.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews