Caravan to Vaccarès
First edition cover by Norman Weaver | |
Author | Alistair MacLean |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Thriller |
Publisher | Collins (UK) Doubleday (US) |
Publication date | 1970 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Preceded by | Puppet on a Chain |
Followed by | Bear Island |
Caravan to Vaccarès is a novel by author Alistair MacLean, originally published in 1970. This novel is set in the Provence region of southern France. The novel was originally written as a screenplay for producer Elliot Kastner.[1]
Plot
From all over Europe, even from behind the Iron Curtain, Gypsies make an annual pilgrimage to the holy shrine of their patron saint, Saint Sarah, in the Provence region of southern France. But something is different about this year's gathering, with many suspicious deaths. Cecile Dubois and Neil Bowman, a British agent, decide to investigate.
Eavesdropping, Bowman discovers that a man named Gaiuse Strome is financing the gypsies, and his suspicions on the real identity of Strome centre on a highly wealthy aristocrat, distinguished folklorist and gastronome, Le Grand Duc Charles de Croytor, whose girlfriend Lila Delafont is a friend of Cecile. As they follow the caravan, Bowman and Cecile find that their lives are in danger many times in an effort to uncover the secret the gypsies are so determined to hide, and before long are running for their lives.
Reception
The New York Times called it "a gratifying entertainment."[2]
The Observer praised the "good descriptions" but said "the plotting is so obscure it might have been grafted on from the wrong brain."[3]
The book became a best seller.[4]
Film adaptation
The novel was adapted into a film in 1974 directed by Geoffrey Reeve and starring David Birney, Charlotte Rampling and Michael Lonsdale.
The idea for the film had come from Reeve, who was partners with MacLean in a business to make movies.[5]
References
- ^ The Man who Knows where the Action is. Alistair MacLean and Godfrey Smith. The Sunday Times (London, England), Sunday, January 18, 1970; pg. 37[S]; Issue 7651. (1523 words)
- ^ Criminals At Large By Allen J. Hubin. New York Times 13 Dec 1970: 320
- ^ Article 13 -- No Title The Observer 1 Nov 1970: 31.
- ^ BEST SELLERS: GENERAL The Washington Post and Times-Herald 10 Jan 1971: 6.
- ^ Webster, Jack (1991). Alistair MacLean: A Life. Chapmans. p. 216.
External links
- Book review at AlistairMacLean.com
- Internet Movie Database
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- The Guns of Navarone (1957)
- South by Java Head (1957)
- The Last Frontier (1959)
- Night Without End (1959)
- Fear Is the Key (1961)
- The Dark Crusader (1961)
- The Golden Rendezvous (1962)
- The Satan Bug (1962)
- Ice Station Zebra (1963)
- When Eight Bells Toll (1966)
- Where Eagles Dare (1967)
- Force 10 from Navarone (1968)
- Puppet on a Chain (1969)
- Caravan to Vaccarès (1970)
- Bear Island (1971)
- The Way to Dusty Death (1973)
- Breakheart Pass (1974)
- Circus (1975)
- The Golden Gate (1976)
- Seawitch (1977)
- Goodbye California (1978)
- Athabasca (1980)
- River of Death (1981)
- Partisans (1982)
- Floodgate (1983)
- San Andreas (1984)
- Santorini (1986)
- All About Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- Captain Cook (1972)
- Where Eagles Dare (1968)
- Puppet on a Chain (1971)
- When Eight Bells Toll (1971)
- Breakheart Pass (1976)
- The Guns of Navarone (1961)
- The Secret Ways (1961)
- The Satan Bug (1965)
- Ice Station Zebra (1968)
- Fear Is the Key (1972)
- Caravan to Vaccarès (1974)
- Golden Rendezvous (1977)
- Force 10 from Navarone (1978)
- Bear Island (1979)
- The Hostage Tower (1980) (TV)
- River of Death (1989)
- Death Train (1993) (TV)
- Night Watch (1995) (TV)
- The Way to Dusty Death (1995) (TV)
- Air Force One Is Down (2013) (TV)
- The Hostage Tower (1980) (with John Denis)
- Air Force One Is Down (1981) (with John Denis)
- Death Train (1989) (with Alastair MacNeill)
- Night Watch (1990)(with Alastair MacNeill)
- Red Alert (1990) (with Alastair MacNeill)
- Time of the Assassins (1991) (with Alastair MacNeill)
- Dead Halt (1992) (with Alastair MacNeill)
- Code Breaker (1993) (with Alastair MacNeill)
- Rendezvous (1995) (with Alastair MacNeill}
- Prime Target (1997) (with Hugh Miller)
- Borrowed Time (1998) (with Hugh Miller)
- Golden Girl (1992) (with Simon Gandolfi)
- Golden Web (1993) (with Simon Gandolfi)
- Golden Vengeance (1994) (with Simon Gandolfi)
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