English Text

Visitors who do not speak French will be given an English booklet at the welcome desk containing the translation of all the explanatory panels of the museum.  On request, guided tours in English can be organized for a minimum of 10 people.

By touring around twenty rooms in the castle, all furnished and decorated, from the bourgeois lounges on the ground floor to the children's attic rooms, you will discover the ancestors of Hervé Bazin and relive the old-fashioned atmosphere widely described in Viper in the Fist. At the end of the tour, a contemporary room presents all of the life and work of the novelist.

Born in Angers on April 17, 1911, Hervé Bazin grew up at the Château du Patys. His childhood is marked by conflicting relations with his mother, who is authoritarian and not very loving. Scampish and rebellious teenager, he left his family at the age of 20 for many years of a bohemian life made up of odd jobs and never-confirmed writing attempts. Success finally arrived in 1948 with his first novel, Viper in the Fist. He will then publish about thirty books and will be president of the Académie Goncourt for 22 years until his death on February 17, 1996.

The mother of the writer, the terrible Folcoche of the novel, resided at the castle until her death in 1960. Subsequently, several owners succeeded and the places, severely degraded, remained unoccupied for several years. A complete renovation restoring the atmosphere of the beginning of the XXth century in which a grown up young Hervé Bazin made it possible to open the castle to visitors in 2020.  

Château du Patys is an unclassified private property which does not benefit from any subsidy. Your entry allows the owner to maintain this heritage steeped in history.  

Château du Patys is located in Haut-Anjou, 900 meters from the village of Marans, in the town of Segré-en-Anjou-Bleu (49500). 

Angers: 30 mins, Nantes: 45 mins, Rennes: 60 mins 

Accessibility: Only the entire ground floor is accessible to people with reduced mobility.