A Castle in Spain cover art

A Castle in Spain

A Mountain Ruin and an Impossible Dream

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A Castle in Spain

By: Matthew Parris
Narrated by: Matthew Parris
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About this listen

 Walking in the Pyrenees, 20 years ago, Matthew Parris and his sister came upon a magnificent medieval house. It had crests and a date, 1559, chiselled into the stone: its walls and foundations were intact but the ancient oak ridge timber supporting the roof had split and was ready to collapse into the rotten floors beneath. Renovation would be an epic undertaking, a massive investment of time, money, and emotion. And, the locals warned, nobody ever left L'Avenc with any money.

A few years ago, Matthew (with his family's help) went back and bought the place. Astonishing and arguably idiotic, his decision resulted in a phenomenal amount of hard work, and this hugely enjoyable book. Inspirational, instructional, and utterly irresistible, this is the story of one man's dream to turn a forgotten ruin into his very own Castle in Spain.

©2005 Matthew Parris (P)2005 Penguin Audio Travel Writing & Commentary

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All stars
Most relevant
I loved this but wished it had been longer , his voice is such easy listening and the story could have gone on for longer for me

Loved this

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Matthew Parris has the endearing quality of all good writers: humour, intelligence, ability to maintain the interest of the reader, and a delicate touch when dressing personal relationships. His voice and presentation are perfect for this story.

Triumph of idealism over financial consideration

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A magical, intriguing novel that makes me want to learn more about Catalonia. So much information in here. I can rewind and relisten and glean more each time.

Bought because I love Matthew Parris's voice!

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excellent narration of well written book. I wish it was longer. Shall listen again.

Enjoyable and soothing

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I was looking forward to listening to this and it had a few good anecdotes. It turned into a detail of how he renovated this old house detail by detail, with not enough about the people that he met. Seemed to spend an eternity describing his bedrooms and bathrooms.... Driving over Lemons was much more interesting

more of an ad for his holiday rentals

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