Synopsis: "The castle and the hills around it had seen a doomed love affair before, but the impulsive young woman and the impressionable young lad from Brittany with whom she discovered a love heretofore denied her knew nothing of the past. They knew only the present--a present suddenly alive with enchantment, love and danger.Linnet Lewarne at nineteen was married to a crotchety, wealthy man forty years her senior. One day there came to the seaport town where they lived a Breton, named Amyot Trestane. Badly beaten by his captain, he decides to leave his ship and settle down in the village. Almost immediately he met and fell in love with Mrs. Lewarne, and she with him. Too young and too much in love, they continue to meet where and as they can...and suddenly tragedy comes, as it had to. Only the old doctor who brought Linnet Lewarne into the world recognizes--too late--the dark currents of the past which have brought the lovers together and will now tear them apart."Castle Dor by Daphne du Maurier and Arthur Quiller-Couch is a very interesting synthesis on many levels. First of all, the story weaves the current story with the age-old love story of Tristan and Iseult. (I wish it hadn't been so long since I'd read that one...details were a bit fuzzy and would have been helpful.) There is a very real feeling that the past is intruding on the present and directing the events of the lives of the lovers as well as those around them. One is left wondering if it is meant as a sort of reincarnation or if it is another version of mystical time-travel (which du Maurier used in The House on the Strand). I lean towards the former.There is also the blending of the work of Quiller-Couch and du Maurier. Quiller-Couch was very interested in Cornish history and the myths and legends of the area and he began this story. Upon his death, his daughter asked du Maurier, a friend of the family, to finish the story. The blending of the work is very well done and it is difficult to tell who is responsible for what. At a guess, I would say that du Maurier picked up the story at Book Two. I certainly do not believe that she is responsible for this image from the prologue: "The most ancient cirque of Castle Dor, deserted, bramble-grown, was the very nipple of a huge breast in pain, aching for discharge." Huh???Overall, this is a very well told story of star-crossed lovers. The descriptions of the Cornish countryside is perfect (save for that bit above), especially in the latter chapters which I am sure is due to Ms. du Maurier. The working out of the legend/myth in the current love affair is done very adroitly and does not seem at all forced (as is sometimes the case when modern authors contrive a re-telling of an old story). And the minor characters are well-rounded and used to full effect. I do wish that Linnet Lewarne were a more sympathetic character. I don't remember details about the Tristan and Iseult story, but I do remember being more touched and involved with both of the lovers. In this version, I find myself sympathizing with Amyot far more than I do with with Linnet. A stronger sympathy for Linnet would bring my rating up to a full four stars, at the very least. As it is...three and half stars. It is very nearly outstanding on all counts. This review was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission to repost any portion. Thanks.
"Not in your world.....but in some borderland of buried kings and lovers"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.
What do You think about Castle Dor (2013)?
As a child I remember my maternal grandfather had a reasonably well stocked library and in it included most of the works of Arthur Quiller-Couch (Q). So it was with some interest that I discovered that this book had been started by Q and finished by du Maurier at the behest of Q's daughter so was intrigued as to how this collaboration would work.Firstly let me say that it appears seamless and it is hard to see which author wrote what (good or bad depending on your taste) although there did seem a noticeable quickening in the pace towards the end.A chance meeting between Linnette LeWarne,a pretty but haughty young woman recently married to a much older man but still with dreams of romance, and a Bretton onion seller Amyot leads to an unlikely romance when Amyot rescues Linnette and her husband from a run-away coach accident with predictably disastrous results. This is interspersed with some good old Arthurian legends of a similar love affair between Tristan and Iseult. The prose was generally excellent,the Cornish scenery was wonderfully portrayed particularly as the mist descends for the final curtain call as was the evocative easy going way of life therein. Although being Cornish myself may have some reflection on my opinion here. But that said at times it was fairly pedestrian almost scholarly in pace at times.The characters were generally only sketchily and there did seem to be an over reliance of an interest and knowledge of the Tristan Iseult affair all of which held back the overall feel of the novel IMHO.On the whole I found this was an interesting collaboration if nor overly gripping one.
—Peter
I really liked the idea of the love story of Tristan and Iseult repeating itself in 19th century Cornwall, but "Castle D'Or" has two major problems: 1) we all already know the story and how it will end, therefore the only reason to read this book would be that we really care for this characters who are going to share the famous lovers' fate - only that said characters are so cardboard and uninteresting that they barely hold the reader's attention2) it's not an original novel by du Maurier, who instead finished/rewrote an unfinished novel by Arthur Quiller-Couch (on request by the deceased author's daughter) and it shows because the tight plotting and interesting characters typical of du Maurier's work are noticeably absend.I gave up after the first 100 pages and skipped the rest because to be honest, this particular setup has been done better by other authors - recommended for du Maurier fans who want to read everything she did, but be prepared for a very slow paced novel with bland characters.
—Spiderorchid
It was ok. I usually love Du Maurier books so it was probably the fact that it was only about half her book that meant I didn't enjoy it as much.I couldn't really get into it until at least half way through and even then I didn't feel that the story or characters gripped me. Because it didn't grip me meant I was reading it quickly and probably missing things as a result.The introductions and development of the characters were lacking as even after finishing it I didn't feel as though I engaged with them.Oh well, I suppose D Du M can't get them right all the time.
—Laura
