Dodie Smith

Author profile

born

May 03, 1896 in Whitefield, The United Kingdom

died

November 24, 1990

gender

female

genre

Literature & Fiction, Children's Books

About this author

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Born Dorothy Gladys Smith in Lancashire, England, Dodie Smith was raised in Manchester (her memoir is titled "A Childhood in Manchester"). She was just an infant when her father died, and she grew up fatherless until age 14, when her mother remarried and the family moved to London. There she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and tried for a career as an actress, but with little success. She finally wound up taking a job as a toy buyer for a furniture store to make ends meet. Giving up dreams of an acting career, she turned to writing plays, and in 1931 her first play, "Autumn Crocus", was published (under the pseudonym "C.L. Anthony"). It was a success, and her story -- from failed actress to furniture store employee to successf...more

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Books by Dodie Smith

Average rating: 3.98 · 29,866 ratings · 3,473 reviews · 19 distinct works

	I Capture the Castle 3.98 avg rating — 23,122 ratings — published 1948 — 52 editions	My rating:
	The Hundred and One Dalmatians 4.03 avg rating — 6,358 ratings — published 1956 — 96 editions	My rating:
	The Starlight Barking 3.57 avg rating — 293 ratings — published 1967 — 9 editions	My rating:
	The New Moon With the Old 3.71 avg rating — 90 ratings — published 1963 — 2 editions	My rating:
	The Hundred and One Dalmations & The Starlight Barking 4.04 avg rating — 53 ratings — published 1967	My rating:
	The Town in Bloom 3.79 avg rating — 58 ratings — published 1965 — 2 editions	My rating:
	It Ends With Revelations 3.32 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 1967 — 3 editions	My rating:
	A Tale Of Two Families 3.28 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 1970	My rating:
	The Midnight Kittens 3.26 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 1978 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Look Back With Love 3.60 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 1974	My rating:

More books by Dodie Smith…

Series by Dodie Smith

The Hundred and One Dalmatians (3 books)
by Dodie Smith

4.01 avg rating — 6,706 ratings

Quotes by Dodie Smith

“Noble deeds and hot baths are the best cures for depression.”
― Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

tags: baths , deeds , depression

1,338 people liked it

“How I wish I lived in a Jane Austen novel!”
― Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

tags: jane-austen

187 people liked it

“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.”
― Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

tags: first-sentence

148 people liked it

See all Dodie Smith's quotes »

Polls

Vote for our March Group Read (Beyond 1940...)

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

7 votes, 58.3%

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

4 votes, 33.3%

Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis

1 vote, 8.3%

A Shooting Star by Wallace Stegner

0 votes, 0.0%

12 total votes

1 comment

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Dodie's Fans (179)