Castle Minerva is a 1954 spy thriller novel by the British writer Victor Canning. It was published in the United States under the alternative title of A Handful of Silver.[1] A contemporary review in The Sunday Times concluded "Castle Minerva not only brilliantly entertains; it satisfies".

Castle Minerva
First edition (UK)
AuthorVictor Canning
LanguageEnglish
GenreSpy thriller
PublisherHodder & Stoughton (UK)
Sloane (US)
Publication date
1954
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint

Synopsis

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While taking a climbing holiday in North Wales, David Fraser encounters his old wartime comrade Colonel Drexel. Drexel wants him to go to Southern France for him to protect a young Arab prince whose country has valuable oil reserves and will sign a treaty once he comes of age. However only a few days after arriving in Banyuls-sur-Mer in the Pyrenees, the prince goes missing and Fraser is blamed.

Film adaptation

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It was adapted into the British film Masquerade directed by Basil Dearden and starring Cliff Robertson, Jack Hawkins and Marisa Mell.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Reilly p.254
  2. ^ Goble p.69

Bibliography

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  • Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.
  • Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015.