Years ago, I read several books by Frances Parkinson Keyes, although I was familiar with her as a historical novelist. Station Wagon in Spain is a contemporary novel for its time, set in 1959.
Allan Lambert is a Spanish professor who has come into an unexpected fortune from his uncle. He has moved into his uncle’s large house and has been ignoring his friend Charlotte’s hints that they get engaged. As term is out and it is the beginning of his sabbatical, he finds he is restless and realizes he is bored.
One day he receives a letter from Spain. It’s a Spanish Prisoner letter, very similar to the Nigerian Letter scam that is still around today. According to the novel, this scam has been around roughly since 1542. Allan recognizes it as a scam but thinks it would be fun to follow up on it and see what happens. He answers the letter and soon has purchased a station wagon and arranged to ship it and himself to Spain.
On board the ship, he meets an attractive woman named Ethel Crewe, who is traveling to Spain to meet her businessman husband. He is inclined to become more closely involved, but things don’t work out that way.
Upon arriving in Spain, Allan offers her and her husband, Anthony, a ride to Madrid. Later, when he meets the representative of the “Spanish prisoner,” he is astonished to find out it is Anthony Crewe.
Although this novel is billed as a romantic suspense and does have some action and skullduggery in it. the plot unravels slowly and at times is much more concerned with the romance after Allan meets a beautiful daughter of a newly impoverished aristocrat. Still, it’s a charming story even though I have my doubts that a Spanish duke, no matter how impoverished and grateful, would assent to his daughter’s marriage to an American academic, certainly not in 1959.
whatmeread 
Thanks for reminding me of Frances Parkinson Keyes. Am revisiting a lot of the older books just to get away from the gratuitous graphic sex/violence that permeates so many books today. I find I can get this from the Internet Archive. Here’s to dpenidng a couple of afternoons in Spain. . .
I so agree with you on that!
“dpendinh” should be “spending”. . .sorry! That’s what I get for not proofreading before posting.
I do that all the time.