Le Château

When a well-to-do extended English family find their perfect escape from the pressures of the city, a 17th Century château awaiting renovation in a quiet corner of rural France, everything is très bon. They are welcomed into the commune, make new friends, and enjoy the peaceful, rustic lifestyle – until a powerful politician with a Machiavellian agenda sets out to ruin them. Against a backdrop of intrigue, blackmail, and skeletons of Nazi collaboration from World War II, the evils of corruption envelop their Gallic dream in Le Château: A Very French Affair.

It’s both a cautionary tale and a spot-on study of what can happen when friendly, well-meaning outsiders – in this case a clan of Londoners – try to become insiders in a land with a very foreign culture. The author, Nick Hampton, a dual English-Australian national, wrote the novel from a position of great insight: his own home in the south of France.

About the Author

Nick Hampton had a long international career as a music industry executive and managing director in London, Europe, the USA and Australia. He was involved with Petula Clark, Elton John, The Kinks, Tony Hatch, Jackie Trent, Donovan, Sandie Shaw, Johnny Cash, Andy Williams, Tony Bennett, Vera Lynn, Slim Dusty, Neil Finn, Jimmy Barnes and other leading artists. Music also brought him into contact with legendary business figures such as Lew Grade, Dick James, Clive Davis and Ted Albert, who was pivotal in AC/DC’s breakthrough. LE CHÂTEAU: A VERY FRENCH AFFAIR is his first novel.

He lives in retirement with his wife in the south of France.