Publisher's Synopsis
Thirty years ago, walking in the Pyrenees, Matthew Parris stumbled upon a magnificent ruined mansion. Its floors and stairs were rotting and the roof was leaking, but inside, where cattle had roamed the rooms, Matthew found carved mantelpieces and coats of arms. The house, called l'Avenc, was partly Gothic, dating back to the fourteenth century, the rest Renaissance, completed in 1559. It had survived two earthquakes before being abandoned in the 1960s. Renovation would be a massive undertaking. Back in London, following his career at Westminster, Matthew would daydream about the house. When l'Avenc went on the market, he bought it. This is the story of one man's 'impossible dream' to transform a forgotten ruin into his own 'castle in Spain'.