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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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Most relevant  
This story inspired me so much that I went to see the “castle”, which is in Barcelona, Spain - and I live in Australia!

It chronicles the efforts of four relatives to restore an old 15th century mansion, which otherwise would have rotted away. You can helped be impressed by not only their craziness to even attempt such a project, but their resilience and determination to continue when things inevitably went wrong.

It is warmly told, well read, and in general a book that I found very inspiring.

Warming story of a grand project

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