Strange landscape / by Tony Duvert ; translated from the French by Sam Flores

Tony Duvert

The setting of this novel is an ancient chateau located in a fog-bound region, possibly Brittany, complete with a forbidden cellar in which hang seven bodies, all victims of horrible sexual assaults. The chatelaine is a sinister doctor and her elderly husband, aided by a depraved young henchman, Marco. The inmates in this strange castle are a gang of boys ranging in age from eight to fourteen, rounded up from various city slums and peasant hovels, and purchased from their families for the price of a fishing boat or the side of a pig. The boys are well fed and clothed and allowed every freedom, but on certain afternoons and evenings they must entertain the highly respected gentlemen who have paid well for the privilige of their company.