Doom Castle

by Neil Munro

No pomp, no pleasant amenities; the place seemed to jut into the sea, defying man's oldest and most bitter enemy, its gable ends and one crenellated bastion or turret betraying its sinister relation to its age, its whole aspect arrogant and unfriendly, essential of war. Caught suddenly by the vision that swept the fretted curve of the coast, it seemed blackly to perpetuate the spirit of the land, its silence, its solitude and terrors.

This was the Count Victor's fist sight of Castle Doom. His mission to Scotland from France in 1755 brought him into this wild land of danger and mystery, where he met the haunting Count Doom, the lovely Olivia, the dastardly Simon MacTaggart - and gothic jeopardy armed with claymores, dirks, and bagpipes.

Here is the most unusual historical novel you will ever read, by a Scot worthy to sit at the right hand of the throne of Sir Walter Scott!

Genres: Classics, Historical Fiction, Fiction

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1901

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Neil Munro was a Scottish journalist, newspaper editor, author and literary critic. He was born in Inveraray and worked as a journalist on various newspapers.

He was basically a serious writer, but is now mainly known for his humorous short stories, originally written under the pen name of Hugh Foulis. (It seems that he was not making a serious attempt to disguise his identity, but wanted to keep his serious and humorous writings separate.) The best known were about the fictional Clyde puffer the Vital Spark and her captain Para Handy, but they also included stories about the waiter and kirk beadle Erchie MacPherson, and the travelling drapery salesman Jimmy Swan.

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Victor, Comte de Montaiglon, has come to Scotland from France on the hunt for a man who is suspected of spying on the exiled Jacobites for the Hanoverian government, and whom Victor also holds responsible for the death of a woman he had once been fond of. The problem is no one knows who the man is. It is rumoured that he is in the Argyll area, so Victor makes for Doom Castle, the home of a Jacobite sympathiser, Lamond of Doom. There he finds the castle dilapidated and nearly empty, the laird’s only servants being a loyal, if odd, old retainer, Mungo Boyd, and a mysterious woman called Annapla, who is often talked about but never seen.

Never in the first 27% anyway, at which point I gave up. It’s hard to believe this is by the same author who wrote the wonderful The New Road. This is clearly supposed to be an adventure in the vein of Walter Scott, but it doesn’t stand the comparison for a moment. The writing is clunky, deliberately full of archaic words that this archaic Scot would have had to google, so heaven help anyone younger or less Scottish! I couldn’t be bothered to, though, because the story failed to grab me – in fact, it failed to move at all in that 27%. By the time he was describing Doom Castle for the third time my boredom level peaked, and while there is action of a sort, Munro keeps it deliberately unclear what is going on which I found intensely irritating. Throw in some overworked dialect and plenty of little bits of French, and it’s more like a bad pastiche of Scott than a novel.

Maybe it improves, but the fact that it is out of print and has a pretty dismal average from the small number of ratings it has garnered on Goodreads makes me suspect it probably doesn’t. And I’m not enthusiastic enough to find out.

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[Perry Whitford · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Doom Man behauld the end of All.
Be nocht Wiser than the Priest.
Hope in God"
Inscription outside Castle Doom.

From the courts and cafes of Paris to the crumbling walls of Castle Doom in Argyle on the western coast of the Scottish Highlands comes Victor Jean, Comte de Montaiglon, in search of a traitor against the Jacobite cause, a man who was also the betrayer of the woman he loved.

The spy he searches for is known only as 'Drimdarroch' but is in fact Sim MacTaggert, chamberlain to the local noble who governs the region. As fate would have it he is also the lover of Olivia, the maiden of Castle Doom who captivates Count Victor immediately.

Though written nearly a hundred years after the Waverley novels, this is an historical fiction not just from the same region but very much in the same style of Walter Scott, including the lively dialect of the lower class characters (e.g. 'the puir cratur is as guid as scragged. The tow's aboot his thrapple and kittlin' him already').

Count Victor is an unusually light-hearted hero, often talking to himself in idiomatic French phrases. Sim MacTaggert is in some ways a sympathetic villain, capable of stirring the emotions of all with his musicianship on the flageolet, a mournful Scotch reed instrument.

Well written with a strong atmosphere, if a little lacking in action.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as engaging as Munro's The New Road, which I loved.

[Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read Doom Castle years ago when I was in high school, and though I remember enjoying it, a recent re-read proved that almost none of the plot stayed with me over the years- most likely because I found the prose excessively wordy and difficult to get through. Since I now possess a much wider vocabulary than I did as a teen, I found the book much more comprehensible on re-read, although several aspects such as the historical setting and Scots dialect were mostly lost on me (not being Scottish myself).

Doom Castle tells the story of a Frenchman, Count Victor Montaiglon, who arrives at the titular castle in Scotland in search of a traitor whose actions caused the death of Montaiglon's lover. Eventually he loses motivation on his quest for justice when he becomes taken with Olivia, the daughter of Baron Doom, who is engaged in a love affair with the Duke of Argyll's Chamberlain, Simon MacTaggart. Through this acquaintance, Montaiglon unexpectedly finds his search fulfilled.

I loved the first half of this book, concerning Montaiglon trying to find out more about his hosts at Doom, which happens to be plagued by mysterious assailants in the night and whose owner wanders the house when the rest are sleeping, dressed in the tartan which he is forbidden to wear. The tension builds over the course of several chapters, and suspense rises with Montaiglon's suspicions that his host is shadier than he appears. I also found these chapters to be among the most humorous, as Montaiglon is a light-hearted and entertaining protagonist. Doom's servant Mungo Boyd also helpfully provides comic relief (although his written dialect confounded me on several occasions). Simon MacTaggart immediately presents himself as an intriguing and alluring character, and I confess I fell under his spell myself.

However, I found that the plot could have been less predictable. As it turns out, Doom is exactly the honorable man he claims to be, and it's MacTaggart who's the real scoundrel- the very one Montailgon is searching for, in a convenient turn of events. I was somewhat disappointed by the one-sided nature of the conflict, since the moment MacTaggart is revealed to be the leader of the assailants on Doom, suddenly it felt like every character was coming out of the woodwork to denounce him. I felt that turn came out of nowhere. He was a complex villain, but the problem was, he didn't feel like a villain at all until that point. I also thought the last few chapters wrapped everything up far too quickly and conveniently. I could have done with a few more chapters dealing with the fallout of the revelation of MacTaggart's wickedness, and the Lamond family preparing to leave Doom.

That isn't to say that the entire second half of the book was without merit, however, because there were certain points I enjoyed. "The duel on the sands" provided satisfactory action, and Montaiglon's flight from the lockup and his encounter with the Duchess of Argyll was simply hysterical. I also liked that Munro let Olivia and Montaiglon's romance develop a little more than I had expected it would. These factors add up to an overall enjoyable story, though I still feel the ending was rushed.

[Graeme · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is essentially a Jacobite romp set in the vicinity of Inveraray about a decade after the failed 1745 Rising. The story unfolds in the manner of a comic opera, with an entertaining cast of characters such as the Baron of Doom's eccentric Lowland retainer Mungo Boyd and the calculating but ill-starred Kate Petullo. However, there is a marked tonal shift in the final chapters as Munro reveals a more serious concern with the flawed character of Simon MacTaggart and the fate to which it leads him. Munro invents a very perceptive second wife for Archibald Campbell, the 3rd Duke of Argyll. Doom appears to have been inspired by Dunderave Castle on Upper Loch Fyne.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a surprisingly entertaining and humorous read that follows Victor Jean, Comte de Montaiglon as he searches for a traitor to the Jacobites, and, importantly to the love of his life. In following this trail he finds himself at Doom Castle, located on the western coast of Scotland and a castle that lives up to its name even before he arrives. Here we meet the eccentric Baron Doom and discover the traitor living as chamberlain to the Baron and Olivia's lover, a woman who captures Victor's attentions from the outset. And so is set an epic, dramatic and yet amusing tale of betrayal, legal wrangling, love and flageolet (and surprisingly no bag pipes).

[Andrew Neil Macleod · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something deeply satisfying about finding in an old library or attic some fusty old book that hasn't been opened in decades, only to find within its pages an exciting adventure as fresh and as vibrant as the day it was written. Neil Munro is the natural successor to R.L. Stevenson, who in turn is the natural successor to Walter Scott. Tremendous good fun.

[Robin Cunninghame Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable but simpler tale than John Splendid. It is a shame that Munro's serious works are so neglected by being so overshadowed by his wonderful Tales of Para Handy. It is sad that the Neil Munro Society has, after decades of sterling work, had to close down.

[Kathy]

Wanted to give this Scottish writer a chance, and this book of his was available through Gutenberg - I just cannot get through the archaic and flowery writing.
It may be that I ought to search for his better known Para Handy figure but not today.
Prose example: "The pistols he held provided the answer. What a rare delicacy! said Count Victor, applying himself to the release of his mail from the saddle whereto it was strapped. They would not interrupt my regretful tears. But for the true elan of the trade of robbery, give me old Cartouche picking pockets on the Pont Neuf. While he loosened the bag with one hand, with the other he directed at the thicket one of the pistols that seemed of such wholesome influence. Then he slung the bag upon his shoulder and encouraged the animal to get upon its legs, but vainly, for the shot was fatal."

Say what?

[Jenna Scribbles]

Copyright 1900 by Doubleday, Page & Co.

Topic - Spies, Scottish Highlands.

Free Project Gutenberg title.

Nope - couldn't make it beyond 12%. Too many references to people, places, and things I didn't know a thing about. Too many foreign phrases that weren't translated. Too many obscure words. Sorry - I gave up on this one.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a historical novel, first published in 1901, set in 1755 about a french count who comes to Argyll seeking revenge. There are some fascinating characters and some exciting scenes but overall I found the story a bit too sentimental.