Death in the Castle - A Novel of Suspense

New York: Pocket Books - A Pocket Cardinal Edition, 1967. First Printing Stated . Mass Market. Very Good. 185 Pages. Red Page Edges. March 1967 First Printing Edition. No defects noted but it lacks the feel of a new un-opened book. Red page edges. In this novel, set in an ancient and brooding English castle, Pearl S. Buck once more displays her extraordinary versatility. On the surface it is a spellbinding tale of the determination of a wealthy young American to buy an old castle from the impoverished aristocrats who own it. He then plans to move it stone by stone to his estate in Connecticut, there to house a great collection of Renaissance art. The intensity of his ambition is matched by the shocked reluctance of Sir Richard Sedgeley and Lady Mary to see their heritage dismantled, scene of a proud and noble past. The role of sympathetic mediator falls to the lovely girl, Kate, who is ostensibly a servant in the castle, granddaughter of the elderly butler Wells. The reader soon learns that she is far more than a simple maid. Beneath the surface runs a current of the supernatural that sweeps the plot to its violent climax. For the castle has obsessed both Sir Richard and Lady Mary. She believes it harbors spirits of past ages who will help save it from demolition. As for Sir Richard, he is haunted by a secret guilt that drives him to relive a tragic episode of centuries past. In the denouement the author seems to be saying that the past which is all around us can be a force for good or for evil, depending on how we, the living, respond to its voices. She has told a story at once entertaining, suspenseful, and provocative.