A Castle in Spain [Idioma Inglés] - Tapa dura

Walking in the Pyrenees, twenty years ago, Matthew Parris and his sister came upon a magnificent medieval house. It had crests and a date - 1559 - chiselled into the stone: its walls and foundations were intact but the ancient oak ridge timber supporting the roof had split and was ready to collapse into the rotten floors beneath. Renovation would be an epic undertaking - a massive investment of time, money and emotion. And, the locals warned, nobody ever left L'Avenc with any money.

A few years ago, Matthew (with his family's help) went back and bought the place. Astonishing and arguably idiot, his decision resulted in a phenomenal amount of hard work, and this hugely enjoyable book. Inspirational, instructional and utterly irresistible, this is the story of one man's dream to turn a forgotten ruin into his very own Castle in Spain.

Matthew Parris was born in Africa in 1949 and grew up in Cyprus, Rhodesia, Jamaica and Britain. He worked for the Foreign Office and Margaret Thatcher before becoming an MP in 1979. For seven years a Conservative MP, he quit to present LWT's Weekend World, after which he became the regular parliamentary sketchwriter for The Times for 13 years.

His books include his autobiography Chance Witness, Read My Lips, Scorn with Added Vitriol, and Inca-Kola, about his travels in Peru. He has also made a number of television documentaries. He is a regular travel writer, reviewer, broadcaster and columnist and divides his time between London, Derbyshire and Spain.