The Chateau
Published on 4. June 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
512 pages
978-1-5299-9046-1 (ISBN)
Description
A nostalgic tale of two lovers' journey through post-war France, from the author of SO LONG, SEE YOU TOMORROW
It is 1948 and a young American couple arrive in war-torn France for a long holiday.
Full of anticipation and enthusiasm, Harold and Barbara Rhodes find themselves enchanted by the glamour and charm of Paris. But as they travel further into the countryside they meet a people still overcoming devastation, and their reception at the Chateau Beaumesnil is not all the open-hearted Americans could wish for.
Luxuriously meandering and joyously observant, The Chateau sees William Maxwell bring to life the soul-enriching experience of what it means to truly travel and open oneself up to new life.
'Surprising on every page... I ended The Chateau feeling very sad that it was over' Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life
'Reading The Chateau is like meeting a very old friend with whom the conversation is always spontaneous, intimate, restorative and unpredictable' Salley Vickers
It is 1948 and a young American couple arrive in war-torn France for a long holiday.
Full of anticipation and enthusiasm, Harold and Barbara Rhodes find themselves enchanted by the glamour and charm of Paris. But as they travel further into the countryside they meet a people still overcoming devastation, and their reception at the Chateau Beaumesnil is not all the open-hearted Americans could wish for.
Luxuriously meandering and joyously observant, The Chateau sees William Maxwell bring to life the soul-enriching experience of what it means to truly travel and open oneself up to new life.
'Surprising on every page... I ended The Chateau feeling very sad that it was over' Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life
'Reading The Chateau is like meeting a very old friend with whom the conversation is always spontaneous, intimate, restorative and unpredictable' Salley Vickers
Reviews / Votes
Not just a book of the year but now one of my desert island books. * Herald Scotland * Delicious and dead-on... All the embarrassments and gratifications of European travel are preserved in the amber of Maxwell's much pondered, seemingly casual prose. * New Yorker * As the voices of Austen, Turgenev and Tolstoy have survived, so will Maxwell's. There aren't many truly great writers among us. William Maxwell is one of them * The Times * It's hard not to see it as a work of genius * Times Literary Supplement * He combines educated intelligent and instinctive apprehension of human complexity in a way that would have earned Henry James' approval. William Maxwell is the very model of what a novelist should be * Independent on Sunday * Perennially endearing * Spectator * Surprising on every page... I ended The Chateau feeling very sad that it was over -- Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life Reading The Chateau is like meeting a very old friend with whom the conversation is always spontaneous, intimate, restorative and unpredictableMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 199 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
346 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-9046-1 (9781529990461)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
William Maxwell
The Chateau
Book
03/2012
Vintage Classics
€12.00
Article exhausted; check different version
William Maxwell
The Chateau
Two lovers embark on a soul-stirring journey into the heart of postwar France.
E-Book
12/2010
1st Edition
Vintage Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Person
William Maxwell (1908-2000) was born in Illinois. He was the author of a distinguished body of work: six novels, three short story collections, an autobiographical memoir and a collection of literary essays and reviews. A New Yorker editor for 40 years, he helped to shape the prose and careers of John Updike, John Cheever, John O'Hara, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Eudora Welty. His novel, So Long Tomorrow won the American Book Award, and in 1995 he received the PEN/Malamud Award.