A Castle in Spain

Matthew Parris's A Castle in Spain is one man's captivating attempt to transform a magnificent forgotten ruin into his own castle—a true story of obsession, restoration, and the irresistible pull of a dream.

Walking in the Pyrenees one spring morning, Matthew Parris stumbled upon a magnificent ruined mansion standing on the edge of a line of huge cliffs. Later he was to discover that parts of the house dated back to the 14th century, though it had not been completed until 1559, and that it had survived two massive earthquakes before falling into disrepair in the early 1960s. A few years later, seduced by "one of those foolish challenges that grip us in middle life," Parris bought the house, L'Avenc, and set about restoring it to its full glory.

This delightful book chronicles it all: the original discovery, the attempts to uncover its history, and then the long, effortful years trying to bring it back to life in the face of scepticism from family, friends and Spanish neighbours. The original edition was published in 2005 when the renovations were a work in progress; this new edition triumphantly records all that has happened since, completing the remarkable story of how one man's castle in Spain became an extraordinary reality.