Customer Reviews

Castle Dor (Virago Modern Classics)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Castle Dor's 19th-century Cornwall and its Arthurian mists have kept me coming back since I was a "in love with love" teenager. Like all of DuMaurier's work, it's either the first step -- or surely the determining step if you're already on the path -- to total Anglophilia (the only "philia" I think I care to own up to!).

The original manuscript was started by Arthur Quiller-Couch, and completed with remarkable seamlessness by DuMaurier upon his death. Written from the perspective of a quiet and respected country doctor, it's also an unusual lens for an author known best for her heroines.

A solitary "man of science," Dr. Carfax recognizes the pattern of an ancient and eternal doomed love being replayed in his era, and is pulled into it ... as are we, inevitably, with the coincidence of names and circumstance hinting at one of the greatest tragedies of Morte D'Arthur.

This is a lovely book; haunting, and a guaranteed keeper for devotees of the bittersweet.

This book was given to my by my uncle when I was 10, for he knew it would appeal to me. It did and still does. I have reread this many times, and was just pulling it out to do it again and thought maybe I would pass on my love for this book.

The original manuscript was done by Arthur Quiller-Couch but never finished, so the great Daphne Dumaurier picked up the baton and carried on to give us a haunting tale of Auld Souls, star-crossed lovers shrouded in the mists of Cornwall. A simply country doctor recognises the signs and moves to keep the doomed lovers apart so the ancient pattern will not be repeated. But the more they try to keep them from each other, the more Fate steps is so prove the pattern cannot be broken.

A stunning gem, one I am surprised is not reprinted more or made in a movie.

Linnette Lewarne, married to a much older man, meets Breton Amyot by pure chance and their fates are forever sealed as they begin to relive a past that has happened time and time again through the centuries - that of Tristan and Iseult. Doctor Carfax watches from the sidelines as he puts the pieces of the puzzle together with that of the legends and ends with a race against time to stop the legend from repeating itself into tragedy once again - all culminating in a on a very foggy Cornwall All Hallows E'en. Is the good Doctor in time or not?

Well you know me, I don't tell. Castle Dor, unfinished at the death of author Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch ("Q"), was completed by Du Maurier at the request of his daughter. A bit slow and dry at the start (I've not read anything from "Q" before, nor am I all that familiar with the legends of Tristan and Iseult), but a good finish, albeit not the strongest. If you're big into the legends of T&I I'd go for it, but Du Maurier fans will probably be disappointed - the parts she contributed at the end are minimal and not her usual style. 3/5 stars.

Begun by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch and completed by Daphne du Maurier, Castle Dor is a retelling of the legend of Tristan and Iseult, set in 19th century Cornwell. Linnet, the young wife of a much older wealthy tavern owner has a chance encounter with a mistreated sailor Amyot and the pair throw caution to the wind, drawn together as if by a mystical force from a former time.

While it is impossible to identify the exact point where du Maurier took over the writing, there is no doubt that the second half is far more readable and faster moving than the first and made me wish she had written the entire book. An interesting twist on an old legend.

I'm a big fan of Daphne du Maurier which is why I read this book and while I thought she finished it fairly well, as would be expected from her, I felt it lost some of the atmosphere created by Quiller-Couch. Quiller-Couch's style, at least in this book, I haven't read anything else by him, reminds me a little of Thomas Hardy, in his descriptions of the English countryside. I think Q-C's descriptions of the country, landmarks and history were a crucial part of this story and not sustained by du Maurier. Q-C made me feel that the land itself was alive with the legend of Tristan and Isolde, he brought me there and made me see and feel it, while at the same time creating a feeling of mystery, whereas du Maurier broke through the mists, breaking branches and exposing everything to the light. I could also clearly tell where du Maurier picked up the story, Chapter 23 I think it was, by my reckoning. Her style was so different and though she seemed to get more comfortable as she wrote, at first it seemed strained and falsly cheerful, and there was a clear demarkation between Q-C's masculine style and her feminine one. She also didn't get Johnny's character right. And while I found du Maurier more 'readable' and breezed through the rest of the book, I preferred Q-C's style. I also thought the nonchalant ending was disappointing, as if to say, well, we're hear at the finish, you know how it ends.

But, we wouldn't have this book if du Maurier didn't agree to finish it and it can't be easy for a successful writer to finish someone else's book. While I'm dissapointed Quiller-Couch couldn't finish it--I would have loved to see how he did it, I do think it's worth the read.

Arthur Quiller-Couch was a keen student of Cornwall and Celtic history and lore. Not surprising, then, that he would write a novel set in almost-modern-day Cornwall and based on the legend of star-crossed lovers Tristan and Isolde. The result is a delightful tale in which the characters are disguised only thinly and the pre-ordained events lead to the inevitable conclusion. Quiller-Couch was a talented and thoughtful writer whose descriptive skills and dialogue bring life to this story, which was already ancient when retold in the early middle ages. Readers conversant with classic mythological themes and devices will enjoy finding them embedded in this narrative.

Daphne DuMaurier, a close friend of Q's, was also enchanted with Cornwall and mythology, so it was natural that his heirs would ask her to complete his unfinished manuscript. She did so in such a way that it is difficult to discover where he left off and she carried on.

This book is a little known gem that deserves a modern readership.