A richly imagined work of fiction from one of France’s best-loved authors. In 1187, on the day of her wedding, the beautiful 15-year-old Esclarmonde scandalizes the court when she refuses to accept the knight chosen by her father, the Lord of the Domain of Whispers. She disobeys her father and vows instead to give herself to God, an act of defiance for which she is imprisoned in a cell beside the castle’s chapel. There she encounters a mystical crossroads where the living and the dead meet and she begins to exert a mysterious and pervasive power over the kingdom. The virgin sorceress reaches a saint-like status as men and women journey from far and wide to hear her speak to them through the bars of her prison. This is a must-read for those who enjoy the novels of Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Márquez.

Carole Martinez
Author Carole Martinez, a former actress and photographer, currently teaches French in a middle school in Issy-les-Moulineaux. She began writing during her maternity leave in 2005.

• Mar 4 2014
  The Financial Times: "Martinez’s lay characters – the pitchfork-clutching crowds, whispering ghosts and promiscuous fairies – are straight out of Perrault’s tales."
  
• Feb 17 2014
  The Washington Independent Review of Books: "The Castle of Whispers will transport readers to other times and other realms, yet provoke them to reflect on their own world."
  
• Jan 29 2014
  Winston's Dad's Blog: "Martinez is a poetic writer [whose writing is similar to] Gabriel Garcia Marquez's."
  
• Dec 7 2013
  Kirkus (starred review): " Transient in impact, but a powerfully visualized magic-realist fable."