Description

A nostalgic tale of two lovers journeying through the French countryside, The Ch teau is a masterful evocation of the beauties of Europe from the author of So Long, See You Tomorrow

A nostalgic tale of two lovers’ journey through post-war France, from the author of SO LONG, SEE YOU TOMORROW

It is 1948 and a young American couple arrive in war-torn France for a long holiday.

Full of anticipation and enthusiasm, Harold and Barbara Rhodes find themselves enchanted by the glamour and charm of Paris. But as they travel further into the countryside they meet a people still overcoming devastation, and their reception at the Ch teau Beaumesnil is not all the open-hearted Americans could wish for.

Luxuriously meandering and joyously observant, The Ch teau sees William Maxwell bring to life the soul-enriching experience of what it means to truly travel and open oneself up to new life.

‘Surprising on every page… I ended The Ch teau feeling very sad that it was over’ Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life

‘Reading The Ch teau is like meeting a very old friend with whom the conversation is always spontaneous, intimate, restorative and unpredictable’
Salley Vickers

Publisher Review

Not just a book of the year but now one of my desert island books. * Herald Scotland * Delicious and dead-on... All the embarrassments and gratifications of European travel are preserved in the amber of Maxwell's much pondered, seemingly casual prose. * New Yorker * As the voices of Austen, Turgenev and Tolstoy have survived, so will Maxwell's. There aren't many truly great writers among us. William Maxwell is one of them * The Times * It's hard not to see it as a work of genius * Times Literary Supplement * He combines educated intelligent and instinctive apprehension of human complexity in a way that would have earned Henry James' approval. William Maxwell is the very model of what a novelist should be * Independent on Sunday * Perennially endearing * Spectator * Surprising on every page... I ended The Chateau feeling very sad that it was over -- Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life Reading The Chateau is like meeting a very old friend with whom the conversation is always spontaneous, intimate, restorative and unpredictable