The story starts with Claude Brosselin, a Parisian antique dealer and designer, who stumbled upon the Hémevez Castle in 1981 when it was more ruin than residence. Intrigued by a winding, path while cycling through the Cotentin countryside, he discovered the château amid the dense undergrowth, seemingly plucked from the pages of a storybook. At that time, Hémevez was a place of melancholic beauty. Although its former grandeur remained evident, the extensive property had lain uninhabited and ransacked since the 1940s when its owners, the Motte de Flers family, fled during World War II. Its crumbling buildings and hazardous, overgrown gardens might have deterred a less imaginative soul. Yet for Claude, it was love at first sight.
Towards the end of 2019, Claude’s daughter, Nina Brosselin, found herself drawn back…