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Castle Tourmandyne
Marg is thrilled that her cousin Peggy is coming to stay for the summer. But Peggy - prickly, sarcastic, and downright mean - has no time for her "baby' cousin"... until Marg receives a beautiful Victorian dollhouse for her birthday. Strangely drawn to Castle Tourmandyne, Peggy insists on assembling the dollhouse in spite of its printed warning: "Be careful to make this house with love".
Soon Peggy is haunted by terrifying dreams in which she is trapped in the dollhouse, a place without love or protection from evil. Marg alone can save her. But first, Marg must enter Castle Tourmandyne herself - and confront the spirit within.
Soon Peggy is haunted by terrifying dreams in which she is trapped in the dollhouse, a place without love or protection from evil. Marg alone can save her. But first, Marg must enter Castle Tourmandyne herself - and confront the spirit within.
157 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
About the author
Monica Hughes
579 books120 followersMonica Hughes was a very popular writer for young people, and has won numerous prizes. Her books have been published in the United States, Poland, Spain, Japan, France, Scandinavia, England, and Germany. She has twice received the Canada Council Prize for Children's Literature, and was runner-up for the Guardian Award.
She is the author of Keeper of the Isis Light, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, which also received a Certificate of Honor from the International Board on Books for Young People; Hunter in the Dark, also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and Sandwriter, among many other titles.
She is the author of Keeper of the Isis Light, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, which also received a Certificate of Honor from the International Board on Books for Young People; Hunter in the Dark, also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and Sandwriter, among many other titles.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 1, 2026
In Monica Hughes' 1995 middle grade paranormal suspense novel Castle Tourmandyne (and with Hughes' sense of geographic place regarding Castle Tourmandyne taking place in Central Alberta and specifically in Edmonton being very strong as well as delightfully realistic, although yes, the nightmare like dollhouse scenes of Castle Tourmandyne are rather too creepy for my inner child and that I therefore and definitely would not have enjoyed this story all that much when I was a middle grade reader), main protagonist and just turning twelve Marg Pargeter is at first thrilled that her older cousin Peggy is coming to stay for the summer (Peggy hailing from Toronto and staying with her aunt and uncle in Edmonton while her parents are travelling abroad). But unfortunately, prickly, sarcastic and often downright nasty Peggy is shown through Monica Hughes' text as having no time for her younger cousin (and also possessing kind of a Toronto versus Alberta superiority attitude, oh boy), that is until Marg receives a late 19th century cardboard dollhouse for her twelfth birthday from her father's mother, from Grandmother Pargeter (unopened, unassembled and of course as such also in pristine condition).
And when in Castle Tourmandyne Peggy and Marg while assembling said dollhouse together (although only very grudgingly by Marg) in spite of the very specific printed warning that this must only be done with love are depicted by Hughes as quarrelling and sniping pretty much relentlessly and showing anything but love, they jointly albeit inadvertently release something evil and depraved in Castle Tourmandyne, with Peggy being haunted by terrifying nightmares in which she is trapped in the dollhouse, in the Castle Tourmandyne of the book title as an abused and threatened orphan doll named Celine (in a place without either love or any protection from evil) and with Marg (who named the dolls for the dollhouse and created their sordid story in revenge for Peggy taking over much of the construction) finally entering Castle Tourmandyne herself (in her own dreams) to confront the tormented, restless and dangerous horror lurking within to save her cousin (and to thereby also release and put to rest the malevolent ghost of Arthur Blair, the spirit of the dollhouse's original designer, who committed suicide and whose nastiness and emotional trauma were obviously trapped in the dollhouse and then released when Peggy and Marg assembled the dollhouse while angry and resentful, since Peggy feels unloved and abandoned by her globetrotting parents and was thus hugely jealous of Marg's supportive parents and harmonious home life and Marg in turn was feeling threatened by her cousin's, by Peggy's Toronto finesse and her sophisticated big city, metropolitan looks).
Now I do like the relationship between Marg and Peggy in Castle Tourmandyne, how they fight (and which I do kind of understand from and on both sides), how Monica Hughes textually shows that neither Peggy nor Marg are without fault regarding their bickering, their fighting and how they finally join forces and manage to defeat the evil unlashed and lurking in the dollhouse assembled sans love and of course also inside of their own souls and emotions (as well as how Peggy saves Marg in Castle Tourmandyne, when that tornado hits Edmonton and specifically the Pargeters' attic just as Arthur Blair and his counterpart Quentin Harrowpoint are thwarted just as the dollhouse of the book title, just as Castle Tourmandyne also totally collapses onto itself). But yes, the possessed dollhouse and exorcising the ghost of Arthur Blair thread of Castle Tourmandyne, while for adult me, Hughes narrative is not overly frightening, indeed, and as already mentioned above, my inner child finds this all a bit too uncanny (and that as such, my rating for Castle Tourmandyne can and will only be three stars and that any recommendation also has to come with caveats regarding potential creepiness and hauntingly frightening scenarios).
And when in Castle Tourmandyne Peggy and Marg while assembling said dollhouse together (although only very grudgingly by Marg) in spite of the very specific printed warning that this must only be done with love are depicted by Hughes as quarrelling and sniping pretty much relentlessly and showing anything but love, they jointly albeit inadvertently release something evil and depraved in Castle Tourmandyne, with Peggy being haunted by terrifying nightmares in which she is trapped in the dollhouse, in the Castle Tourmandyne of the book title as an abused and threatened orphan doll named Celine (in a place without either love or any protection from evil) and with Marg (who named the dolls for the dollhouse and created their sordid story in revenge for Peggy taking over much of the construction) finally entering Castle Tourmandyne herself (in her own dreams) to confront the tormented, restless and dangerous horror lurking within to save her cousin (and to thereby also release and put to rest the malevolent ghost of Arthur Blair, the spirit of the dollhouse's original designer, who committed suicide and whose nastiness and emotional trauma were obviously trapped in the dollhouse and then released when Peggy and Marg assembled the dollhouse while angry and resentful, since Peggy feels unloved and abandoned by her globetrotting parents and was thus hugely jealous of Marg's supportive parents and harmonious home life and Marg in turn was feeling threatened by her cousin's, by Peggy's Toronto finesse and her sophisticated big city, metropolitan looks).
Now I do like the relationship between Marg and Peggy in Castle Tourmandyne, how they fight (and which I do kind of understand from and on both sides), how Monica Hughes textually shows that neither Peggy nor Marg are without fault regarding their bickering, their fighting and how they finally join forces and manage to defeat the evil unlashed and lurking in the dollhouse assembled sans love and of course also inside of their own souls and emotions (as well as how Peggy saves Marg in Castle Tourmandyne, when that tornado hits Edmonton and specifically the Pargeters' attic just as Arthur Blair and his counterpart Quentin Harrowpoint are thwarted just as the dollhouse of the book title, just as Castle Tourmandyne also totally collapses onto itself). But yes, the possessed dollhouse and exorcising the ghost of Arthur Blair thread of Castle Tourmandyne, while for adult me, Hughes narrative is not overly frightening, indeed, and as already mentioned above, my inner child finds this all a bit too uncanny (and that as such, my rating for Castle Tourmandyne can and will only be three stars and that any recommendation also has to come with caveats regarding potential creepiness and hauntingly frightening scenarios).
May 9, 2017
Cross-posted from my blog where there's more information on where I got my copy and links and everything.
I was so nervous to re-read this. This was one of my favourite books as a kid, along with another of the author's books. (My Name is Paula Popowich - I should talk about that some day, too.) Reading this was super nostalgic for me, since I read it so many times as a kid. It's one of very few books I brought with me when we moved from Ontario to Saskatchewan. And I'm glad to say it has held up pretty well. There's a few dates aspects - video tapes, green and pink plastic roller blades - but I don't think it affects it badly, and the writing has held up well.
The idea of a haunted dollhouse is just delightfully creepy. (And seriously, check out this list when you're done reading this post. Look at all the creepy doll books.) The scare factor is definitely kid-appropriate. While I still think it's creepy and appreciate that, it's not going to give me nightmares or anything. It's kind of like Goosebumps or Fear Street. Scary for kids, but in an appropriate way.
One thing I noticed as an adult was that occasioanlly Marg's dialogue sounded much older than a twelve year old. I don't think twelve year olds in 1995 said "shan't". I woner if part of that was that the author wasn't published until fairly late in life, and also that she was British. I could see a British kid saying "shan't". But honestly, I know from reading this as a kid that it didn't bother me. I loved this as a kid.
I like the relationship between Marg and Peggy, how they fight, and how complex they are. Peggy is kind of a jerk! And yet she is also presented as a sympathetic character, and her growth and emotions are so important to the story. The message is good, I adore two girls fighting evil together through love, and it's just creepy enough. It's a little old, but I still enjoyed re-reading it, and it will be staying on my shelf.
I was so nervous to re-read this. This was one of my favourite books as a kid, along with another of the author's books. (My Name is Paula Popowich - I should talk about that some day, too.) Reading this was super nostalgic for me, since I read it so many times as a kid. It's one of very few books I brought with me when we moved from Ontario to Saskatchewan. And I'm glad to say it has held up pretty well. There's a few dates aspects - video tapes, green and pink plastic roller blades - but I don't think it affects it badly, and the writing has held up well.
The idea of a haunted dollhouse is just delightfully creepy. (And seriously, check out this list when you're done reading this post. Look at all the creepy doll books.) The scare factor is definitely kid-appropriate. While I still think it's creepy and appreciate that, it's not going to give me nightmares or anything. It's kind of like Goosebumps or Fear Street. Scary for kids, but in an appropriate way.
One thing I noticed as an adult was that occasioanlly Marg's dialogue sounded much older than a twelve year old. I don't think twelve year olds in 1995 said "shan't". I woner if part of that was that the author wasn't published until fairly late in life, and also that she was British. I could see a British kid saying "shan't". But honestly, I know from reading this as a kid that it didn't bother me. I loved this as a kid.
I like the relationship between Marg and Peggy, how they fight, and how complex they are. Peggy is kind of a jerk! And yet she is also presented as a sympathetic character, and her growth and emotions are so important to the story. The message is good, I adore two girls fighting evil together through love, and it's just creepy enough. It's a little old, but I still enjoyed re-reading it, and it will be staying on my shelf.
January 1, 2019
Would not recommend. The end had me skipping pages. Just too drawn out.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews