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Duke de Richleau #7
The Golden Spaniard
2 Jul 1936 - 7 Dec 1936
Spain writhed in the torment of Civil War. In a Madrid bank lay ten tons of gold: and both sides wanted it. Its owner was the lovely Countess Lucretia Coralles – who, known to the rebels as 'the golden Spaniard', led the double life of a secret agent.
She had other secrets too – and one of them was the reason why the Duke de Richleau responded so quickly to her appeal for help, throwing himself into the desperate struggle in which his own closest companions of earlier adventures were now his most dangerous foes. . . .
Spain writhed in the torment of Civil War. In a Madrid bank lay ten tons of gold: and both sides wanted it. Its owner was the lovely Countess Lucretia Coralles – who, known to the rebels as 'the golden Spaniard', led the double life of a secret agent.
She had other secrets too – and one of them was the reason why the Duke de Richleau responded so quickly to her appeal for help, throwing himself into the desperate struggle in which his own closest companions of earlier adventures were now his most dangerous foes. . . .
Paperback
First published August 6, 1938
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About the author
Dennis Wheatley
380 books247 followersDennis Yates Wheatley (8 January 1897 – 10 November 1977) [Born: Dennis Yeats Wheatley] was an English author. His prolific output of stylish thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors in the 1950s and 1960s.
His first book, Three Inquisitive People, was not immediately published; but his first published novel, The Forbidden Territory, was an immediate success when published in 1933, being reprinted seven times in seven weeks.
He wrote adventure stories, with many books in a series of linked works. His plots covered the French Revolution (Roger Brook Series), Satanism (Duc de Richleau), World War II (Gregory Sallust) and espionage (Julian Day).
In the thirties, he conceived a series of whodunit mysteries, presented as case files, with testimonies, letters, pieces of evidence such as hairs or pills. The reader had to go through the evidence to solve the mystery before unsealing the last pages of the file, which gave the answer. Four of these 'Crime Dossiers' were published: Murder Off Miami, Who Killed Robert Prentice, The Malinsay Massacre, and Herewith The Clues.
In the 1960s his publishers were selling a million copies of his books per year. A small number of his books were made into films by Hammer, of which the best known is The Devil Rides Out (book 1934, film 1968). His writing is very descriptive and in many works he manages to introduce his characters into real events while meeting real people. For example, in the Roger Brook series the main character involves himself with Napoleon, and Joséphine whilst being a spy for the Prime Minister William Pitt. Similarly, in the Gregory Sallust series, Sallust shares an evening meal with Hermann Göring.
He also wrote non-fiction works, including accounts of the Russian Revolution and King Charles II, and his autobiography. He was considered an authority on the supernatural, satanism, the practice of exorcism, and black magic, to all of which he was hostile. During his study of the paranormal, though, he joined the Ghost Club.
From 1974 through 1977 he edited a series of 45 paperback reprints for the British publisher Sphere under the heading "The Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult", selecting the titles and writing short introductions for each book. This series included both occult-themed novels by the likes of Bram Stoker and Aleister Crowley and non-fiction works on magic, occultism, and divination by authors such as the Theosophist H. P. Blavatsky, the historian Maurice Magre, the magician Isaac Bonewits, and the palm-reader Cheiro.
Two weeks before his death in November 1977, Wheatley received conditional absolution from his old friend Cyril ‘Bobby’ Eastaugh, the Bishop of Peterborough.
His estate library was sold in a catalogue sale by Basil Blackwell's in the 1970s, indicating a thoroughly well-read individual with wide-ranging interests particularly in historical fiction and Europe. His influence has declined, partly due to difficulties in reprinting his works owing to copyright problems.
Fifty-two of Wheatley's novels were published posthumously in a set by Heron Books UK. More recently, in April 2008 Dennis Wheatley's literary estate was acquired by media company Chorion.
He invented a number of board games including Invasion.
-Wikipedia
His first book, Three Inquisitive People, was not immediately published; but his first published novel, The Forbidden Territory, was an immediate success when published in 1933, being reprinted seven times in seven weeks.
He wrote adventure stories, with many books in a series of linked works. His plots covered the French Revolution (Roger Brook Series), Satanism (Duc de Richleau), World War II (Gregory Sallust) and espionage (Julian Day).
In the thirties, he conceived a series of whodunit mysteries, presented as case files, with testimonies, letters, pieces of evidence such as hairs or pills. The reader had to go through the evidence to solve the mystery before unsealing the last pages of the file, which gave the answer. Four of these 'Crime Dossiers' were published: Murder Off Miami, Who Killed Robert Prentice, The Malinsay Massacre, and Herewith The Clues.
In the 1960s his publishers were selling a million copies of his books per year. A small number of his books were made into films by Hammer, of which the best known is The Devil Rides Out (book 1934, film 1968). His writing is very descriptive and in many works he manages to introduce his characters into real events while meeting real people. For example, in the Roger Brook series the main character involves himself with Napoleon, and Joséphine whilst being a spy for the Prime Minister William Pitt. Similarly, in the Gregory Sallust series, Sallust shares an evening meal with Hermann Göring.
He also wrote non-fiction works, including accounts of the Russian Revolution and King Charles II, and his autobiography. He was considered an authority on the supernatural, satanism, the practice of exorcism, and black magic, to all of which he was hostile. During his study of the paranormal, though, he joined the Ghost Club.
From 1974 through 1977 he edited a series of 45 paperback reprints for the British publisher Sphere under the heading "The Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult", selecting the titles and writing short introductions for each book. This series included both occult-themed novels by the likes of Bram Stoker and Aleister Crowley and non-fiction works on magic, occultism, and divination by authors such as the Theosophist H. P. Blavatsky, the historian Maurice Magre, the magician Isaac Bonewits, and the palm-reader Cheiro.
Two weeks before his death in November 1977, Wheatley received conditional absolution from his old friend Cyril ‘Bobby’ Eastaugh, the Bishop of Peterborough.
His estate library was sold in a catalogue sale by Basil Blackwell's in the 1970s, indicating a thoroughly well-read individual with wide-ranging interests particularly in historical fiction and Europe. His influence has declined, partly due to difficulties in reprinting his works owing to copyright problems.
Fifty-two of Wheatley's novels were published posthumously in a set by Heron Books UK. More recently, in April 2008 Dennis Wheatley's literary estate was acquired by media company Chorion.
He invented a number of board games including Invasion.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 10, 2016
Most fascinating with twist after twist including in the downer ending... but can well empathise with the Duke at the book's start
August 10, 2020
This surprisingly fine third instalment of Wheatley's Duke de Richleau series sees our heroes off to Spain, in order to participate in the Spanish Civil War which was in the process of dividing the country in the 1930s. What makes this gripping and exciting from the outset is that the friends are paired off on different sides, with Simon and Rex joining the Communists and the Duke and Richard joining the Fascist side.
What makes this so engrossing is that Wheatley, despite his right-wing sensibilities, paints a fair portrait of a complex political situation, with good and bad guys on both sides of the divide. It's an impossibly complicated set up with various factions striving for control, and I came to it as somebody who knows nothing about the situation, but nonetheless it was explained in a lively and engaging way. There are endless twists and turns throughout the novel with plenty of action set-pieces and hair-raising escapades liberally mixed with suspense. The only downside is that it's slightly overlong, but this isn't too serious.
What makes this so engrossing is that Wheatley, despite his right-wing sensibilities, paints a fair portrait of a complex political situation, with good and bad guys on both sides of the divide. It's an impossibly complicated set up with various factions striving for control, and I came to it as somebody who knows nothing about the situation, but nonetheless it was explained in a lively and engaging way. There are endless twists and turns throughout the novel with plenty of action set-pieces and hair-raising escapades liberally mixed with suspense. The only downside is that it's slightly overlong, but this isn't too serious.
November 10, 2023
Mayhem in Spain
Our heroes get involved in on of the most tangled plots I’ve ever come across.
There is enough action in this book for half a dozen.
A good read, but overdone.
Interesting to read the history of the Spanish Civil War. It was a vicious affair.
Our heroes get involved in on of the most tangled plots I’ve ever come across.
There is enough action in this book for half a dozen.
A good read, but overdone.
Interesting to read the history of the Spanish Civil War. It was a vicious affair.
October 20, 2014
An ok adventure but not one of Wheatley's best. Reading his work in chronological order (which I am doing, sad person that I am) this is his weakest so far. I felt it was overlong and lacking in excitement (by Wheatley's own standards). At times it felt like it would never end and, for the first time, Duke de Richleau came over as something of an unlikeable and arrogant prick. In fact, none of the characters of the 4 friends came out of this one well. Never mind. On to the next.
July 11, 2009
Typical Dennis Wheatley in that the action is fast and furious from first page to last. The Duke de Richleau and his three friends find themselves on opposite sides at one time in a thriller that centres around the Spanish Civil War (not my favourite historical event!).
December 24, 2013
Not as good as the two previous Duke de Richleau books, but I learned a metric ton about the Spanish Civil War.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews