Castle Minerva

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)
Author	Victor Canning
Language	English
Genre	Spy thriller
Publisher	Hodder & Stoughton (UK) Sloane (US)
Publication date	1954
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print

Synopsis

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

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