Review: My Mother’s Castle by Marcel Pagnol

Born in 1895 in Marseille, Marcel Pagnol was one of the finest playwrights and novelists of his generation. He is often credited with being at the forefront of early 20^th century French theatre with popular plays like Marius and Fanny. However, Pagnol made his name as a novelist with Jean de Florette and Manon of the Springs as well as with a series of autobiographical novels known as Memories of Childhood.

Published in 1957, My Mother’s Castle, the second novel in the series, was his most critically acclaimed book. In it, Pagnol reminisces on summer holidays he spent with his family in the hills of ‘Les Bellons’ at ‘La Bastide Neuve’ in the early 1900s. Young Marcel meets Lili, a boy from the hills who teaches him how to set traps and hunt. Marcel and Lili quickly become best friends and spend most of the summer together. Marcel’s father Joseph, a teacher, also spends his mornings hunting, while his mother Augustine, a seamstress, cares for the other two children of the family, Paul and Germaine.  As the summer draws to a close, the family prepares to return home – much to the dismay of Marcel who attempts to run away with Lili.

Back home, however, the family finds it difficult to settle back into their routine, and Joseph devises a plan that will allow them to enjoy the best of both worlds. Initially, taking a rather long route, they go to the hills every weekend, but the trip proves too tiring for the family. Thanks to Bouzigue, one of Joseph’s past students, they manage to find a shorter route, which involves going through several private properties. However, this proves to be a particularly stressful time for Augustine, who crumbles in fear every time she approaches a particular castle.

Pagnol works his storytelling magic throughout this tale of nostalgia, loss and one son’s unequivocal love for his mother.  My Mother’s Castle is a gem of French literature and probably the most beautiful tribute Pagnol could give to his mother.

Several years later, Pagnol bought the castle – his mother’s castle. “All this time, she never knew she was at her son’s place,” he later said.