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The Castle of the Shadows
Excerpt from The Castle of the Shadows
That's not fair, replied the girl Besides, if it were, who has helped to spoil me? I will buy an Olive grove, and you shall see if I tire of it. Come, let's ride up the valley, and find out if there are any for sale. It looks heavenly cool after this heat.
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
That's not fair, replied the girl Besides, if it were, who has helped to spoil me? I will buy an Olive grove, and you shall see if I tire of it. Come, let's ride up the valley, and find out if there are any for sale. It looks heavenly cool after this heat.
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
339 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1905
About the author
C.N. Williamson
499 books8 followersCharles Norris Williamson, 1859–1920, British writer and journalist
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 3, 2018
While the title of the book gives an impression of a horror story ...the story is something quite different . A heiress who acts on a promise given to an acquaintance of a few minutes...a treachery ...an adventure...a chaperone straight out of a Hindi serial who keeps asking questions in her mind and is perennially eavesdropping ....phew ! Quite a read...but worth one !
September 11, 2020
Une histoire avec le charme suranné de l'ancien temps, par moment avec des accents mélodramatiques mais dans l'ensemble captivante.
August 15, 2013
I always have a hard time remembering character names and details by the time I reach the end of a book. So here is a character list before I get it all muddled.
Virginia Beverly: Rich American heiress, who also happens to be beautiful, captivating, kind, and intelligent. Story opens with her on holiday in France.
George Trent: Virginia's half brother. Not rich, but very nice.
Roger Broom: Virginia's slightly older cousin of an unspecified distance. Nice, smart, and in love with Virginia (who's not interested... yet?).
Lady Kate Gardiner: Virginia's English-Chaperone-for-hire. Fairly self-serving and not above a bribe.
Madeleine Dalahaide: Owner of Château de la Roche. A young woman haunted by family tragedy. Her father committed suicide and her mother died of a broken heart after her brother was found guilty of murder.
Maxime Dalahaide: Madeleine's brother. Found guilty of a horrible murder that he may not have committed. Sentenced to life in prison at Noumea, New Caledonia.
The Marchese Loria: An Italian in love with Virginia. He also has a history with the Dalahaide family. Was a good friend of Maxime. Did all he could to prevent Maxime from being found guilty... or did he?
****
The story opens with Virginia and the rest of her party on a horseback ride. She sees a olive grove she wants to investigate. This leads to her being told somewhat of the tragedy connected with the Château de la Roche, which is up for sale. Being rich, and intrigued, she decides she wants to buy it. So she requests to see the inside. This results in her meeting Madeleine Dalahaide (who has never doubted her brother's innocence). It also results in Virginia seeing a portrait of Maxime. Virginia instantly decides there is no way a man with a face like Maxime's could be a murder! She almost as quickly decides to use her money and influence to right the wrong that has been committed.
Of course, since Virginia is irresistible to nearly everyone she meets, she then proceeds to move heaven and earth to accomplish her goal.
If you set aside the near impossibility of the story, the somewhat predictable plot, and the author's cop-out at the end... it was fun to read and worth the few hours mental fluff it provided.
Virginia Beverly: Rich American heiress, who also happens to be beautiful, captivating, kind, and intelligent. Story opens with her on holiday in France.
George Trent: Virginia's half brother. Not rich, but very nice.
Roger Broom: Virginia's slightly older cousin of an unspecified distance. Nice, smart, and in love with Virginia (who's not interested... yet?).
Lady Kate Gardiner: Virginia's English-Chaperone-for-hire. Fairly self-serving and not above a bribe.
Madeleine Dalahaide: Owner of Château de la Roche. A young woman haunted by family tragedy. Her father committed suicide and her mother died of a broken heart after her brother was found guilty of murder.
Maxime Dalahaide: Madeleine's brother. Found guilty of a horrible murder that he may not have committed. Sentenced to life in prison at Noumea, New Caledonia.
The Marchese Loria: An Italian in love with Virginia. He also has a history with the Dalahaide family. Was a good friend of Maxime. Did all he could to prevent Maxime from being found guilty... or did he?
****
The story opens with Virginia and the rest of her party on a horseback ride. She sees a olive grove she wants to investigate. This leads to her being told somewhat of the tragedy connected with the Château de la Roche, which is up for sale. Being rich, and intrigued, she decides she wants to buy it. So she requests to see the inside. This results in her meeting Madeleine Dalahaide (who has never doubted her brother's innocence). It also results in Virginia seeing a portrait of Maxime. Virginia instantly decides there is no way a man with a face like Maxime's could be a murder! She almost as quickly decides to use her money and influence to right the wrong that has been committed.
Of course, since Virginia is irresistible to nearly everyone she meets, she then proceeds to move heaven and earth to accomplish her goal.
If you set aside the near impossibility of the story, the somewhat predictable plot, and the author's cop-out at the end... it was fun to read and worth the few hours mental fluff it provided.
July 10, 2016
This is an older book that I found at an estate sale. I don't do much garagesaleing, but I love going through some of the old books people have to see just how old they are. I don't buy many of them unless they are something I really want to read. A lot are in bad shape! this one is about a rich young girl who is traveling about the world and finds an old estate in France that has a great mystery about it's people.
She is so taken with it and the people she met there, she decides to buy it and wants to try to solve the mystery! The copyright date is 1909; and apparently was a Christmas gift to a young lady in 1917.
She is so taken with it and the people she met there, she decides to buy it and wants to try to solve the mystery! The copyright date is 1909; and apparently was a Christmas gift to a young lady in 1917.
August 26, 2014
I actually liked this story. It was a nice little turn of the century romance/mystery. Admittedly, Ms. Williamson isn't Iris Johanson or Carla Neggers but she's a capable writer and it was pretty good. All sweet, innocence with a cad in the midst of it. Heroin sees portrait of condemned man and refuses to believe such a face could belong to a murderer and vows to prove his innocence and free him from prison. That sounds just like the plot to a one of those modern pornomances. The only thing missing is intercourse.
Want to Read
January 28, 2014nice book to read
April 4, 2017
I generally like a good, melodramatic, improbable story, but this one just didn't do it for me.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews