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I Capture the Castle [Paperback]

Dodie Smith (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (180 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 16.99
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Book Description

Publication Date: Mar 15 1999
I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle's walls, and her own first descent into love. By the time she pens her final entry, she has "captured the castle"-- and the heart of the reader-- in one of literature's most enchanting entertainments.

Bonus: Reading Group Discussion Guide included in this edition

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Product Description

From Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain wants to become a writer. Trouble is, she's the daughter of a once-famous author with a severe case of writer's block. Her family--beautiful sister Rose, brooding father James, ethereal stepmother Topaz--is barely scraping by in a crumbling English castle they leased when times were good. Now there's very little furniture, hardly any food, and just a few pages of notebook paper left to write on. Bravely making the best of things, Cassandra gets hold of a journal and begins her literary apprenticeship by refusing to face the facts. She writes, "I have just remarked to Rose that our situation is really rather romantic, two girls in this strange and lonely house. She replied that she saw nothing romantic about being shut up in a crumbling ruin surrounded by a sea of mud."

Rose longs for suitors and new tea dresses while Cassandra scorns romance: "I know all about the facts of life. And I don't think much of them." But romantic isolation comes to an end both for the family and for Cassandra's heart when the wealthy, adventurous Cotton family takes over the nearby estate. Cassandra is a witty, pensive, observant heroine, just the right voice for chronicling the perilous cusp of adulthood. Some people have compared I Capture the Castle to the novels of Jane Austen, and it's just as well-plotted and witty. But the Mortmains are more bohemian--as much like the Addams Family as like any of Austen's characters. Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmations, wrote this novel in 1948. And though the story is set in the 1930s, it still feels fresh, and well deserves its reputation as a modern classic. --Maria Dolan

Review

"This book has one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met. Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain captures the castle in her insightful, witty journal entries."--Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling

"What a lovely book is I Capture the Castle. It's as fresh as if it were written this morning, and as classic as Jane Austen. I'm very happy to have met it."--Donald E. Westlake

"A delicious, compulsively readable novel about young love and its vicissitudes. What fun!"--Erica Jong
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I WRITE THIS sitting in the kitchen sink. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Began as a sheer joy but didn't keep its ease Jun 18 2010
By Samantha TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was a little confused when I began reading the book because it seemed at once aimed at teenagers but written with adult sensibilities. Eventually, I just relaxed and let Cassandra, the seventeen-year-old narrator take me away. And she did it beautifully. I loved the quotidian simplicity of her world, her romantic bent of mind, her precociousness. I was lulled by the language and thrilled to be enjoying a book written seventy years ago. Until the last quarter of the book. It took a sharp turn that made me want to skim. Suddenly it seemed clearly written for teenagers. I couldn't swallow the romances that bloomed and faded. Then Cassandra stopped being endearing; she became shallow, fickle and immature. I almost gave the book 4 stars because of the delight I felt for most of the book, but the ending was just too disappointing.
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4.0 out of 5 stars And She Captured My Heart Aug 6 2012
By ahef1963
Format:Paperback
I Capture the Castle was a delight for almost the entire novel. Cassandra, a strong, resilient, and talented girl in her late teens, narrates the book through diary entries. Her family, once well-off, has crumbled into decay and is living in an ancient castle with almost no money and little to eat. She writes of her sister's plans to marry out of poverty, her fears for her father's sanity, and her family and romantic relationships, with insight and wisdom. Dodie Smith also wrote '101 Dalmatians' prior to writing this charming little book.

I Capture the Castle
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2.0 out of 5 stars an (rather unsuccessful) attempt at a Jane Austen /Flavia de Luce hybrid? April 20 2011
By Book E. Worm
Format:Paperback
Not particularly impressed by this book. Picked it up because J.K. Rowling recommended it... As implied by my review, it seems like a Jane Austen novel set in the 1930s, narrated by a "precocious" seventeen-year old "child" in a situation akin to the de Luce household...
That being said, the first person narration is very well done. And, if you are looking for a modernized Austen-like book set in early 20th century, (so imagine cold crumbling manor houses, impoverished girls, star-crossed lovers and the underground and wireless sets), you'll be sure to enjoy it.
For me, though, it was swift read on the train, but not something I would reread.
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Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars I Capture the Castle
What a joy! This is my favourite book of all time. Beautifuly written!.
Published on Nov 10 2007 by Natalie A. Robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book
After reading the latest reviews on Amazon I felt obliged to write my own review.
This is a wonderful book. It reads very easily and the story is a joy to follow. Read more
Published on July 18 2005 by Allyson
2.0 out of 5 stars no, thanks
okay, personally, i really didn't like this novel. Sorry Dodie, but i just coldn't get past the first 7 chapters...it got really boring. Read more
Published on July 1 2005 by Hannah
4.0 out of 5 stars Capture this book!
I came across this book accidentally. My co-worker had it on the library reference desk. She said it was the next book in her book discussion group. Read more
Published on Jun 26 2004 by Kat
4.0 out of 5 stars Will capture your heart
Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, an aspiring author, is keeping a journal in which she chronicles her life in a ramshackle old English castle. Read more
Published on Jun 8 2004 by Eileen Rieback
5.0 out of 5 stars A Lovely Narrator
I CAPTURE THE CASTLE was recommended to me by an acquaintance when it became available a few years ago, in print after a long absence in the United States. Read more
Published on May 27 2004 by Maren Robinson
4.0 out of 5 stars great!
this book was really good i just finished it. i loved the characters although i wished the ending was a little different. i recomend it to anyone who loves the british!
Published on May 27 2004 by nabilah
3.0 out of 5 stars Over-Rated
This book seemed "shallow" and "wandered" a great bit.
Published on May 16 2004 by snowblaze
4.0 out of 5 stars Mixture of L.M. Montgomery and F. Scott Fitzgerald
The method of telling the story reminds me heavily of Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery but the overall themes and characterizations remind me most of the Great Gatsby. Read more
Published on May 10 2004 by Sarah Sammis
4.0 out of 5 stars Good romance, rich with mood and character
This is a gently whimsical and vaguely gothic story told from the perspective of young Cassandra Mortmain, living with her eccentric, genteely impoverished family in an old English... Read more
Published on April 8 2004 by Jeronimo
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