I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith Reviews

Dodie Smith's first novel tells the coming-of-age story of a teenage girl, in the form of her personal diary. She wrote it in 1948 after authoring a number of plays. The diary of Cassandra Mortmain tracks the musings of a young woman and her family's impoverished life in a crumbling castle, leased by her father who has lost creative ...  Read the complete review

I am a teenager and am of the audience that this book was intended for. Or was It? "I Capture the Castle" is a wonderful book about,,, well everything! You go right along with the narrator, and main character extraordinaire, Cassandra Mortmain, as she learns to speed write, kiss and be brisk. Her family lives in an old, ...  Read the complete review

This novel follows the life of Cassandra Mortmain, a 17 year old girl from a rather eccentric family living in a castle. The head of the house, Cassandra's father, is a brilliant yet stifled author. Having written a hugely successful novel some years ago but he's written nothing since. Rose, the elder and very beautiful, sister is tired of ...  Read the complete review

Oh, what a wonderful book! Written by the author of 101 Dalmations, it came as a surprise to me that it was a perfect teen coming-of-age novel. What a gem! It was written in 1949, and set slightly earlier.The Mortmain family ( Dad - previously successful author, now suffering from writer's block, his second wife Topaz - ex artists ...  Read the complete review

Dodie Smith is probably most well known for writing 101 Dalmatians, however she infact wrote many plays as well as this novel which was first published in 1949. I Capture the Castle draws in many aspects of classics English novels including Jane Eyre, and while the diary form it’s written in certainly isn’t original it still remains a firm ...  Read the complete review

Flicking through the bookshelves of a high street bookstore a couple of years ago I came across “I Capture The Castle” by Dodie Smith. Although dubbed a “children’s book” something about the novel drew me to it and I decided that I would like to find out more. I received this book the following Christmas and commenced on an often moving, at times ...  Read the complete review

The term "children's fiction" is misleading. A good book is one which is still a good book, no matter how old you are when you read it. The very best books written for children or adolescents are often the ones that are also successful with an adult audience. So it was with Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle. I opened the ...  Read the complete review

Firstly, this book is nothing like the famous '101 Dalmations'. It is not about dogs, for a start. The story focusses on the Mortmain family, which is composed of the father (referred to as 'Mortmain'), his wife, Topaz (an eccentric model who likes to walk around naked), and his children from an earlier marriage: Rose ...  Read the complete review

“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.” So begins Dodie Smith’s charming, timeless novel of adolescent angst and family loyalties. It is hard not to fall immediately in love with a book that begins in such a way, and I defy you not to adore this book, no matter what age you are. You see, until recently, this classic ...  Read the complete review