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I Capture the Castle

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 31,278 ratings · 3,873 reviews

Dodie Smith's first novel transcends the oft-stodgy definition of "a classic" by being as brightly witty and adventuresome as it was when published nearly fifty years ago.

Lovingly passed down from generation to generation and long unavailable in American stores, I Capture the Castle has become one of the most requested items of used book dealers. However, in the author's n

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Paperback, 592 pages

Published August 2nd 2012 by Vintage Children's Classics (first published 1948)

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Sep 04, 2007 Laurie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

With many of my favorite books I can still remember the person who put a copy in my hands. Matilda was given to me for my 8th birthday by my stepdad, the title Pride and Prejudice scribbled on a piece of paper and handed to me by my young (must've been straight out of college) 7th grade English teacher-- she gave me the paper and sent me to the library to find it, and I still remember sitting in that classroom taking in the opening page with grand delight ....

I hadn't ever heard of I Capture the...more

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Feb 10, 2008 Melissa Rudder rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Melissa by: J.K. Rowling, kind of

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle is a charming and surprising read. I was enchanted by the first paragraph, but never did I imagine that it would be the sort of book that left me speechless at the end--in awe and contemplative and wanting to read more but knowing that anything else I picked up just wouldn't feel right.

The narrator, who is consciously attempting to "capture" in her journal her family's eccentric and impoverished life in their unfurnished, deteriorating castle home, is simply en...more

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Oct 14, 2008 Alyson rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. i found this book to alternate between delightful and infuriating.

here is the delightful:
-images of the english countryside and the crumbling, fantastic castle
-cassandra's optimism and intelligence (pre-simon)
-perfect descriptions of peaceful, contemplative moments

and here is the infuriating:
-cassandra's father. a supposed genius but in reality a sexist, abusive, loathsome, distant fellow. he appears sporadically to ignore his children, leave his wife lonely, make everyone question his sanity an...more i found this book to alternate between delightful and infuriating.

here is the delightful:
-images of the english countryside and the crumbling, fantastic castle
-cassandra's optimism and intelligence (pre-simon)
-perfect descriptions of peaceful, contemplative moments

and here is the infuriating:
-cassandra's father. a supposed genius but in reality a sexist, abusive, loathsome, distant fellow. he appears sporadically to ignore his children, leave his wife lonely, make everyone question his sanity and demand his supper from the ladies of the house. the frustrating part of this character is that his terrible behavior is overlooked and often glorified when he should be taken to task. i spent a good part of this book longing for someone to throw him into the moat.

-cassandra's personality meltdown after "falling in love". the optimistic, intelligent, loving, happy girl turns at once into a mean-spirited, self centered fool. she begins to hate her sister and engage in other sorts of petty, miserable behavior. not only is her change of heart unbelievable in how quickly and totally she becomes a different (mean, angry, self-centered) person, but  somehow the author seems to insinuate that this very change of heart (for the worst!) is in itself the act of growing up. what a sad commentary on aging cassandra's behavior is!

the back of the book declares, "by the time she (cassandra) pens her final entry, she has captured the castle. . ."
i do not believe that cassandra "captures the castle" by the end of this book. i think she loses the castle. she has lost her optimism and her ability to write without a certain bitterness. her words are tainted by her own anger/sadness/jealousy about her troublesome "love". i feel that capturing the castle would have meant cassandra maintaining  her original good nature, selflessness and happiness despite her failure in love. it would have been rectifying (in person) her horrid behavior towards her sister and most certainly standing up to her father. (less)

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Dec 27, 2009 Eh?Eh! rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: goodreaders-made-me, lit-huh-rary, babble-added

Vacation reading continues.

The story is so charming! I especially like how the main character, Cassandra, appreciated food because of her poverty. Favorites:

-I shouldn't think even millionaires could eat anything nicer than new bread and real butter and honey for tea.

-But I did like the restaurant; most of the people eating there were unusually ugly, but the food was splendid. We had.... We were gloriously bloat.

-...ham with mustard is a meal of glory.

There was a formal dinner party where Cassan...more Vacation reading continues.

The story is so charming! I especially like how the main character, Cassandra, appreciated food because of her poverty. Favorites:

-I shouldn't think even millionaires could eat anything nicer than new bread and real butter and honey for tea.

-But I did like the restaurant; most of the people eating there were unusually ugly, but the food was splendid. We had.... We were gloriously bloat.

-...ham with mustard is a meal of glory.

There was a formal dinner party where Cassandra observed the oddness of gathering to eat, the servants central to the experience but not involved with conversations, the food going in and words coming out. I agree that food doesn't mix well with stiff formality. I do love how people come together over food though - meeting friends usually centers around food, my favorite gifts have been food, and nearly every party I've ever been to has ended up cramming into the kitchen at some point no matter where the host/hostness intended to contain the crowd. I've heard some people complain about kitchen-centric parties...pssh. Conversation still flows and everyone's closer to the food&drink.

The charm of the story wasn't all about food. I think it was also because of the innocence of the narrator and the society described. Innocence in that it was possible to be at once delicate and matter-of-fact about adultery, jealousy, a cougar, kissing without love, confusion about love, a dress pulled down off a shoulder, but all without the salaciousness w/official veneer of prudery that is our reality now. It has the most delicately worded description of sex I'd ever read: I am not so sure I should like the facts of life, but I have got over the bitter disappointment I felt when I first heard about them, and one obviously has to try them sooner or later. Not to say innocence made things better but I wonder what it would be like to live without an implied wink or leer in certain statements. I'm misrepresenting some of these things since the book is presented as the journal entries of Cassandra.

The story's charm is also in the little realizations about life and self the character has as she observes and experiences. They are the realizations of a young girl who is still very idealistic about life, unaware of some probable harsh future adjustments. This coming-of-age girl story probably wouldn't be as charming for most guys to read.(less)

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Jun 21, 2007 Punk rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

Young Adult Fiction. Seventeen-year-old Cassandra begins a journal in an attempt to perfectly capture her family and the run-down castle they live in. This book wasn't at all what I expected. I'm reading it for the first time as an adult, and maybe I would have felt differently about it as a kid, but now I just found it sort of upsetting, and not in a cathartic way.

It's got a playful tone, yet is almost relentlessly dreary outside the narrative itself; possibly because Cassandra is too young to...more

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Punk Gin wrote: "But I would definitely give the book two stars if I only read the passages about Cassandra's father!"

Yeah, Cassandra's father was a selfis...more
Feb 06, 2010 05:33pm

Angel I am surprised by how much people are turned off from the book based on unpleasant living circumstances. Yes, the father is a neglectful and at times...more
Mar 09, 2010 04:43pm

Jul 14, 2008 Martine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Jane Austen fans

Shelves: british, family-drama, favourites, film, intelligent-chick-lit, modern-fiction, romance

This is going to be the shortest review I've written on this site in a while. The reason I'm going to keep it short is because no description could possibly do justice to this quintessentially English coming-of-age story which ranks among the most pleasant surprises I've had, book-wise. A summary would make it sound slight, trite and predictable, all of which it is, and would not reflect the fact that it's also funny as hell, charismatic, deliciously eccentric, Austenesque and so utterly charmin...more

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Nov 17, 2010 Emilie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 10, fiction, favorites

There are times when I feel that something must be wrong with me because I can’t always answer what appears to be a simple question with an equally simple answer. Reading this book, I smiled to myself around this, and felt validated and vindicated that this is not truly a flaw.

written in the 1940s, I love the feel of it, the way it is both delicate and head-on in its rendering of both innocent and serious things. and I love the way that the narrator, Cassandra, expresses conflicting emotions, t...more There are times when I feel that something must be wrong with me because I can’t always answer what appears to be a simple question with an equally simple answer. Reading this book, I smiled to myself around this, and felt validated and vindicated that this is not truly a flaw.

written in the 1940s, I love the feel of it, the way it is both delicate and head-on in its rendering of both innocent and serious things. and I love the way that the narrator, Cassandra, expresses conflicting emotions, the way that she relates her experience to characters in books she has read, the way that she changes her mind, and is complicated in her thoughts and feelings in a way that feels very real to me, that she sometimes thinks she knows why she is acting a certain way, only to see later after something else occurs and she becomes more self aware (and this often through journaling, which I relate to, too), that it was really something else. I love this shifting of her perspective. I love her imaginativeness. The entire world is alive and possessing feelings to her. She weaves her own story with the stories of books she loves. I love the way her mind works. I love that she is aware of conflicting impulses within herself.

This is something very special about the book to me, to have this narrator who feels so honest and in the process of understanding herself, and having this awareness of how she sometimes feels like she knows something about herself only to realize later that it looks quite different.

And this seems to me to be one of the main themes of the book, the way that perception is so often limited and pieces are missing and how this affects our idea of reality, and the way that reality and the people in it, including ourselves, are more layered and complicated than can be contained in the kind of one sentence summation that the world often asks of us. This view of a more layered complicated reality leaves room for us to surprise ourselves and to be surprised by others.

As much as this book has a feel of naivete that the author even plays with, having one of the characters accuse the narrator of being “consciously naïve” (and even he decides later that she is charming), the narrator and the book are in many ways much deeper and wiser than they may appear at first glance. I think this is intentional.

One thing this book is about going deeper, and the complexity that is there. It’s about learning to know ourselves and others more clearly and it’s about growing up. It’s about making choices about the kind of person we will choose to be, given awareness of the kind of person we are.
Though Cassandra is literally growing up, I believe the book is speaking too about the kind of growing up we all do all throughout our lives. The way we are reimagining our view to the past and shifting our understanding of ourselves and others.
(less)

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Jan 17, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of Pride and Prejudice

Recommended to Jessica by: oliviasbooks

Shelves: 12-gotten-through-swapping, 09-corner-bookclub

Rating clarification: 3.5 stars

On the edition I have there’s a quote from J.K. Rowling which says "This book has one of the most charismatic narrators I’ve ever met" and I certainly have to agree with her.

I Capture the Castle is written in diary form and our narrator is seventeen-year-old Cassandra who wants to become a writer someday and after her rather unsuccessful attempts at writing her own poetry she decides to teach herself how to write a novel by keeping a diary. She tells us at the beg...more Rating clarification: 3.5 stars

On the edition I have there’s a quote from J.K. Rowling which says "This book has one of the most charismatic narrators I’ve ever met" and I certainly have to agree with her.

I Capture the Castle is written in diary form and our narrator is seventeen-year-old Cassandra who wants to become a writer someday and after her rather unsuccessful attempts at writing her own poetry she decides to teach herself how to write a novel by keeping a diary. She tells us at the beginning of the book that she intends to capture the castle and all its residents and that’s exactly what she does. Therefore a good part of the book consists of rather long and detailed descriptions of the scenery and the different characters. Cassandra’s a very interesting narrator though, she’s intelligent and observant and I liked how she was able to step back and analyze her own behavior and her motives for it and so I wasn’t bothered too much by the long descriptions. I also liked to hear about all the secondary characters. I think Topaz and Neil were my favorites.

I keep reading about people comparing I Capture the Castle to classics like Pride and Prejudice and though I have to say that the story did remind me of Jane Austen’s classic, I Capture the Castle certainly can’t compete with it. However, the comparison can give you an idea of the general style and might give you an indication as to whether you’ll like this book or not. You have to keep in mind that the story’s set in 1930 and the characters are behaving and acting like it was appropriate at that time. What I am trying to tell you with this is that the romance works on a whole different level than a romance that’s set in our time would. Men and women were much more formal towards each other back then so you can’t expect any big kissing scenes but just like Jane Austen managed to make you swoon for Mr. Darcy and root for him and Lizzie, Dodie Smith manages to make you root for Cassandra and Simon. Not to the same extent, though.

Thanks Olivia for swapping! I did enjoy this.(less)

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Sep 04, 2009 Cara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Jane Austen fans

Recommended to Cara by: Valerie

Shelves: classics, books-made-into-movies

Cassandra is a 17 year old girl living in a castle. Sounds romantic doesn't it? Not so much when you find out that she and her family are literally dirt poor. Things change for her family though when the Cottons come. Before you know it the plot thickens and you can't turn back. I'm itching to say more about it, but I'm afraid if I do I might give things away. Surprised is the first word I thought when I was finished. A good surprise. The beginning seems innocent enough and really does have that...more Cassandra is a 17 year old girl living in a castle. Sounds romantic doesn't it? Not so much when you find out that she and her family are literally dirt poor. Things change for her family though when the Cottons come. Before you know it the plot thickens and you can't turn back. I'm itching to say more about it, but I'm afraid if I do I might give things away. Surprised is the first word I thought when I was finished. A good surprise. The beginning seems innocent enough and really does have that Austen feel to it, but as we go along the tone changes. Not in a bad way, but more mature.

There are too many wonderful quotes from this book. I stopped and actually contemplated over some of the things said. Cassandra is so insightful that it's hard to believe she really is only 17 in the beginning of the book. I loved her though. She may not do always do the best or right thing, but since you read her innermost thoughts you "get" her so to speak. Everybody isn't what they seem but at the same time they are. You learn everything through her eyes and with her you agonize and rejoice. It simply takes you in.

It was so fun to see the American references, and to see how the English saw them at that time. There is one moment in the book where she is noticing how Neil (one of the Cottons) cuts his food. It's very complicated and I doubt that Americans would have gone through all the trouble with manners, but then again I didn't live in those times. The book feels very modern, which shocked me since it was written so long ago. Though it still has that wonderful old time feel with all the descriptions of England and the etiquette then. The reason why I knocked off a star was because through out a lot of the book Cassandra is really down and acting silly over being heartbroken. Though this is realistic I don't go for book that have a lot of that and it annoyed me a little bit.

I learned from one of my goodread friends (thanks again Haley for the info) that there is a movie to this book. Totally going to watch it, and I have very high expectations for the Stephen character. He better be drop dead gorgeous.(less)

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Oct 05, 2010 Mariel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: dreamers and realists

Recommended to Mariel by: a great amazon reviewer

I Capture the Castle is one of my favorite books for making everything out of every event until it is all absolutely important. I capture it all and it is going to last forever. It's not a lonely voyeur book but a loving one, like those collections of stories and images and songs we store up to shield against the blackest stuff (or at least a rope to hold onto).
I bought 'Castle' in 2002 after reading a review on amazon that said it was a "dark flip side" of Elizabeth Bowen's The Death of the Hea...more

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Nov 19, 2007 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: in-by-of-england, on-writing, reviewed

The problem with this otherwise charming story is that everyone lies around (literally) thinking about how poor they are and yet completely unable to do anything about it. They wait and wait for their father to do something. It may have been societally-acceptable bahavior, and thoughts, of the time in which it was writtten but to the modern reader, it's distracting because there is a continuous question running counter to the story in your mind, "why don't you go get a job?" They're well educate...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Bettie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Bettie by: Overbylass

Shelves: published-1948, epistolatory-diary-blog, summer-2012, young-adult, art-forms, architecture, period-piece, britain-england, suffolk, families, bedside

World Book Night 2012 Edition, and the unique identifying # 204-10868010. Overbylass collected it from Guisborough Book Shop.

THANKEE!

Opening: I write this sitting in the sink. That is, my feet are in it; the rest of me is on the draining board, which I have padded with our dog's blanket and the tea-cosy.

What an antidote to Even The Dogs, and from the woman who wrote 101 dalmations no less. Opened this up after finishing the last few pages that were left over from Blood Sisters, just to have a...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Sloan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, favorites, comfort-reads, read-in-2008, books-i-own, seen-the-movie-or-tv-show, best-endings, titles-i-love

From the moment I opened this book I knew I was going to fall in love with it. As it turns out, it is by far the most beautifully written novel I have ever read. There is so much depth to Dodie Smith's characters and writing that I can’t even imagine trying to describe it to anyone who hasn't experienced it for themselves. This book is truly one of a kind.

To sum up the book, it is basically a coming of age story that takes place in the the 1930's. The story is told through the main character, Ca...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Siyuan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The descriptions of the castle and the voice were great; I thought I had outgrown this sort of coming-of-age story centered around a wide-eyed, precocious young girl. For some reason I especially liked reading about their meals, both before and after the Cottons came along to provide them with better food. What is jellied soup, anyway? There was also a cutely Pollyannaesque tone to the cheerful way Cassandra would casually make note of all the things they lacked and had sold off, and her appreci...more The descriptions of the castle and the voice were great; I thought I had outgrown this sort of coming-of-age story centered around a wide-eyed, precocious young girl. For some reason I especially liked reading about their meals, both before and after the Cottons came along to provide them with better food. What is jellied soup, anyway? There was also a cutely Pollyannaesque tone to the cheerful way Cassandra would casually make note of all the things they lacked and had sold off, and her appreciation for the little that they did have. But halfway through the book I stopped being able to fully relate to Cassandra.

I get that love isn't rational, but sometimes I think what's true in real life doesn't always translate well to fiction. Stephen was really too wonderful and too deserving of love, and I was just unable to process Cassandra's indifference to him as a lack of chemistry rather than utter heartlessness. He was responsible and considerate, not only to Cassandra but to the entire family, even though by the end he was their hired boy only in name, and was the only one in the family earning any income. That anecdote about his reaction to the news of his mother's illness really did it. The scene with the wirelesses was especially painful, and it was interesting to note Cassandra's perception of kindness: she is deeply impressed by and grateful to the Cottons for what she calls their "kindness," and I definitely get that, given what a huge impact they've had on her family's lives and circumstances. At the same time, this really highlights how much she takes for granted, in terms of the kindness she receives from Stephen, Topaz, and Miss Marcy.

In the end it almost seemed as though Cassandra's feelings were largely decided by both class and circumstance--i.e., her feelings towards a person were determined by what it is within their means to provide. For example, Topaz can only cook and scrub and clean and comfort, and Miss Marcy can go out of her way to provide somewhat insubstantial help, while Mrs. Cotton can send gigantic hams and throw lavish parties and Simon, with his age and access to education, can talk about books and composers. When she tries to comfort Stephen, she even acknowledges that his wireless was a bigger present from him because he had to work and save for it, and I think that's pretty representative of their entire relationship with the Cottons--the Cottons are kind, generous people, but it also really doesn't cost them anything and they can afford such charity. I think the author did a good job of illustrating the selfishness and single-mindedness that can come out of young love or infatuation.

Again, this is all very realistic and makes sense, since it's human nature to take what you have for granted, to not appreciate family when you're starstruck or obsessed with something else, but because this was fiction, I wanted it all to wrap up neatly and for the main character to grow up. I don't mean the character shouldn't still be a work-in-progress at the end of book, but in terms of character growth, Cassandra's story and and Miss Marcy's story of being shaken out of her self-interest by grief and tragedy and then coming out of that by taking an interest in children are at different ends of the spectrum.

I feel like the book offers the first part of a coming-of-age story, without actually following the character through to any major development. Since the latter portion of the book has much more to do with Cassandra's emotions and her fixation on Simon than on the unique experience of living in poverty in a castle with an eccentric family, this also made me lose some of my original interest in the book.(less)

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Apr 29, 2007 Angela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

I first read this book back in junior high, and was amazed to find a family that reminded me of my own. From the first sentence: "I write this while sitting in the kitchen sink", it just felt so unexpectedly familiar.

During that first reading I thought the whole romance/love plot was a waste of space - I wanted to read about the family, the castle, and the father's novel. (I was thrilled at the idea that a novel could consist of lists and crossword puzzles, rather than straight-forward prose.) R...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Blake rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-classics, fiction

This book recalls every runaway bit of your being, whose romance for those first and invincible impressions of stately castles is very much alive and living. The feeling is not for the knights and battles of their time, but for the free and innocent English-ness that has furnished us with the enthusiasm of children exploring ancient secrets in the countryside, hiding places in old giants, and made us ever more aware of the undergirding certainty that these sunny daylight rambles, even among dark...more

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Jul 19, 2008 Annalisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, historical-fiction, literary, young-adult

This really is a charming picture of the early 20th century. Set in an old English castle, the family rents the home but doesn't have the means to maintain in its elegant grandeur after the father's one and only successful novel breeds no subsequent writing. The story is 17-year-old Cassandra's journal written by the last of the candlelight on the last of her pages. While engaging, I found her voice immature. But then a week after finishing the novel I happened upon my own journal at that age an...more This really is a charming picture of the early 20th century. Set in an old English castle, the family rents the home but doesn't have the means to maintain in its elegant grandeur after the father's one and only successful novel breeds no subsequent writing. The story is 17-year-old Cassandra's journal written by the last of the candlelight on the last of her pages. While engaging, I found her voice immature. But then a week after finishing the novel I happened upon my own journal at that age and had to laugh at the similarities. So while it's shallow and not always bright, it's age appropriate.

When the owners of the property enter the picture, Cassandra's sister Rose sets her heart on capturing the heart of the rich landlord and marrying into wealth. The story is set in a society turning from the Jane Austen society where marrying for money is not only acceptable but encouraged to our society where feminism and fighting for oneself stands supreme. The book makes the argument that when standing at the edge of ruin, so hungry for even the standard comforts of life, is it so wrong to want security? It may not be, but to marry without love on the false declarations of it is.

Rose is your standard gold digger, heartless of the men she pursues with only eyes for the purse strings, but Cassandra is no less of one. Her attraction to the strange Simon and her rejection of kind and generous Stephen rely heavily on their monetary means whether she realizes it or not. The whole book I was rooting for Stephen. It is not often that a woman finds a man willing to dote on her every need and emotion, even if these are the very men women reject. Why do the nice guys always finish last? Don't women realize the steady heart is the one worth having?

All the characters are bright and amusing, particularly the eccentric stepmother Topaz. But the father I found abusive (not just the strike, but the fear to approach him), selfish (take some responsibility for the welfare of your family), and not in the least bit lovable despite Cassandra's attempts to write him in a better light and excuse away his faults. His prison term didn't sound like a mistake in his neighbor's vantage point but a expression of his rage and lack of control for his temper. He angered me and tinged the romantic feel of the book.

It's a quirky read with very vivid characters and a very vivid setting.(less)

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Jul 15, 2008 Cristin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

It is unequivocal: I have had a bit of a love-affair with “I Capture the Castle.” The affair started like most great loves do; you see something you are attracted to, and knowing that it holds promise and seems potentially rewarding, you do your best to possess it. As I was shelving books at The Inkwell Bookstore, in Falmouth, MA, (an excellent independent, superior to all other bookstores on Cape Cod, and certainly one of the best bookstores I’ve seen in New England) I noticed the cover, read t...more It is unequivocal: I have had a bit of a love-affair with “I Capture the Castle.” The affair started like most great loves do; you see something you are attracted to, and knowing that it holds promise and seems potentially rewarding, you do your best to possess it. As I was shelving books at The Inkwell Bookstore, in Falmouth, MA, (an excellent independent, superior to all other bookstores on Cape Cod, and certainly one of the best bookstores I’ve seen in New England) I noticed the cover, read the back, researched the book and courted the idea of buying it for a while. Finally, I made the purchase and happily went home, intending to read it straight away.

Life has a strange way of sending people things...The arts always have some strange way of reaching me when I am most urgently in need...What I’m trying to say is that I picked this book up and began reading it months ago and then put it down for some inexplicable reason. I picked it up again, after feeling the bitter pain that coincides with unrequited love, ignorant of the fact that this book describes the pleasures and pains of such human experiences with great eloquence, wit and charm.

The timeliness of my reading this book is perhaps what I’ll remember about it most, but along with that good memory come the many descriptions that led me to believe that I happily read this book at exactly the right period of my life. Cassandra, the main character, struggles not only with unrequited love, but the meaning of creativity, the significance of God–she wrestles with the idea of God in a way that I can entirely relate to, being a bit of an agnostic myself...I can’t bring myself to own the identity of an atheist; I am far too romantic to think that there’s nothing–that everything is merely arbitrary and chaotic and ridiculous (although I find myself frequently teetering on the edge of that belief).

Cassandra also deals with the eccentricity of her family–their foibles and struggles provide a mirror into her own soul, which I greatly appreciate.

The language of this book, and all of its British glory, is something to savor. The romanticism of Cassandra’s descriptions of Godsend Castle are exemplary, and if you’re a reader who is remotely interested in any of Jane Austen’s works (with a dash of the sisters Brontë)–you’ll truly find joy in the experience of reading “I Capture the Castle.”

Although some of Cassandra’s experiences made me feel wistful and sometimes sad, I truly appreciate the experience of reading this book, and firmly believe that it is something worth investing one’s time and heart in. (less)

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Feb 20, 2009 Allison (The Allure of Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Allison (The Allure of Books) by: Fiona

Shelves: 2009, classics

This is a book about Cassandra. About her life...and about life in general, really. Her reflections are so real and insightful. Honesty is the main focus of the story...from my point of view anyway. She ultimately learns that there is nothing but temporary solace to be found in settling for anything less than honesty with yourself. I think that is what every character in the story realizes at the end.

I think Dodie Smith really accomplished something in making this a story about life and not a st...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Sarah Sammis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: released, read-in-2003

My husband asked me last night what this book is about. Without giving a second thought I blurted out: "It's like The Great Gatsby." Then I had to take a step back and think to myself -- why the heck did that book come immediately to mind?

Nick Carraway, the narrator and protagonist of The Great Gatsby describes Jay Gatsby, all his excesses and his hangers on with a sense of detachment and mild amusement. Cassandra, the narrator and protagonist of I Capture the Castle takes the same approach with...more

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Sep 11, 2009 Valerie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic

This book without a doubt surprised me. I expected it to be all innocent and nice when I first started reading the book. But that is how she is in the beginning of the book, innocent and naive. She doesn't stay that way so neither does the book. No doubt during the time it was published it was probably a scandalous book. Now less people would be offended about some of the truths presented.

Cassandra was very observant and very aware of how much she didn't know. That may not make sense but its ho...more This book without a doubt surprised me. I expected it to be all innocent and nice when I first started reading the book. But that is how she is in the beginning of the book, innocent and naive. She doesn't stay that way so neither does the book. No doubt during the time it was published it was probably a scandalous book. Now less people would be offended about some of the truths presented.

Cassandra was very observant and very aware of how much she didn't know. That may not make sense but its how Cassandra is. I neither like her nor hate her, I just feel bad for her. She and her family start out dirt poor. And this isn't your glamorous "oh we can't buy new cloths" poor; this is really really poor.

What I liked about it was that it had all these things that you don't expect to happen. Like Cassandra is actually happier when they are poor. Cassandra starts to mature once they start getting money. Usually its the other way around. Kids start to become more solemn and mature when their family is struggling financially. Its something I found very new from a classic. It may sound like an oxymoron but its true. Plus, I liked that you got a sense of everything like it’s new because it mostly is to Cassandra.

All the characters are confusing, I want to say complex but I couldn't understand them sometimes so they are just confusing. Each have their motives for doing things but I don't know what they are sometimes. I could see Cassandra's motives because she tells you them and I could see what Rose's motives were because they are, for the lack of the better word, shallow. Everyone one else is just a mess of emotions.

The ending didn't turn out the way I would've liked. But the way the author made a mess of everything I'm just grateful that no one committed suicide. Cassandra is depressed for a long time, over a quarter of the book I'd say. I remember her saying that people who didn't feel depressed every once in a while were missing out on life. Not in those exact words but in general. My reaction to this was, "Your wasting your life away when you ARE depressed!" I just think she was way too self-pitying. She knows this too because -like I said- very observant. And a lot of characters are left with some hope but it’s very vague and they are currently unhappy. There is tons drama, but it was an easy read -for a classic anyway.
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Feb 20, 2011 Pam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: before-and-between-the-wars, fiction

You know when everyone is talking about something enthusiastically and you have not a glimmer nor a reference as to what they referring? Well that was how I was feeling when I stumbled across yet another author I admired mentioning this book. So you can get a flavor of what I mean, here are a couple:
"I know of few novels - except Pride and Prejudice - that inspire as much fierce lifelong affection in their readers." -Joanna Trollope
"This book has one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever m...more

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Jul 28, 2008 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I finished reading I Capture the Castle for the first time and I was left with wonder at the depth and artistry of Dodie Smith. The characters were strong individuals without becoming clich?s (Let's face it: Rose could have been.) I loved their quirks and their problems.

As I flip through others reviews though, I'm rather shocked to read that many people believed/hoped that 'I Capture' was a romance. It isn't. The ending isn't accidental or vague. (Yes it leaves possibilities... But that is part...more

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May 26, 2008 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

The book is in the format of a journal being kept by 17 year old aspiring writer Cassandra Mortmain during the 1930’s in Britain. Her journal mainly recounts a few noteworthy months in the life of her rather eccentric family: famous author father who wrote one highly original, critically acclaimed book but nothing since and is kind of a jerk to everyone around him because of this, stepmother Topaz a beautiful and bohemian nudist model, beautiful older sister Rose, younger brother whose name I ca...more The book is in the format of a journal being kept by 17 year old aspiring writer Cassandra Mortmain during the 1930’s in Britain. Her journal mainly recounts a few noteworthy months in the life of her rather eccentric family: famous author father who wrote one highly original, critically acclaimed book but nothing since and is kind of a jerk to everyone around him because of this, stepmother Topaz a beautiful and bohemian nudist model, beautiful older sister Rose, younger brother whose name I can’t remember, and the orphan of a previous servant Stephen. The family live in poverty in a ramshackle old castle, rent free, on the grounds of another estate.

The story begins with Cassandra and Rose desperately wanting something to happen to them. They are on the cusp of adulthood and feel trapped by their eccentric family and the poverty they have sunk to but while Rose is all about escape, Cassandra is much more interested in the event; the experience of something happening. Enter Simon and Neil Cotton, American brothers with English roots who have inherited the estate the Mortmains live on. The ensuing story told by Cassandra is an old one – coming of age, falling in love – indeed there is a love pentagram which is a little fantastic and seems headed for a clichéd and disneyfied ending. But Dodie Smith (who also wrote 101 Dalmations) thankfully avoids taking the usual path.

Cassandra is a good narrator, very likable, observant, tolerant and smart but believably 17. Her naiveté, carelessness and misguided idealism made me want to slap her silly at times but as we watch those things get crushed, I ached for her. The end of the book is unsettling, sad and entirely appropriate. Some people get what they want, but most don’t. Cassandra finds out in a rather dramatic way that life isn’t that romantic and that the right choices often times won’t bring you joy but may bring you happiness or at least contentment.

The rich and eccentric characters are what make this book but the author also does a good job of setting the scene and weaving the story through the vehicle of a journal. I definitely enjoyed it.
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Mar 20, 2008 MJ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to MJ by: ultimate reading guide

Shelves: fiction, liked-it, idiots-ultimate-reading

17 year old Cassandra and her family live in an old castle that is falling down around them in the English countryside. There is her "brilliant " writer father who has not written anything in years, her model bohemian step-mother, beautiful and bitter older sister Rose, her younger wise beyond his years brother Thomas and the son of their former housekeeper Stephan who is in love with Cassandra. Cassandra starts writing in a journal to practice speed writing (short-hand to us Americans) in hopes...more

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Jan 08, 2008 Charyce rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Any woman who appreciates great writing, romance, and wit.

Shelves: fiction, classic

This book has captured my heart! It is sure to make my list of classics that I will read and re-read forever more. I am so enraptured by the characters and themes of this book that I want to relish them just a little longer before I start reading a new book and they become crowded out of my thinking.

The flavor of this book is somewhat a combination of Pride and Prejudice, Diary of Anne Frank, and The Addams Family... (how can you not want to read it now?) It is a witty and introspective look at...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Cheryl in CC NV rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can definitely see why this is a beloved classic. I was frustrated by how much of a fairy-tale it is (esp. re no mention of WWII!?) but I still enjoyed how complex the characters are, and how much they grow. I give it credit for not having a neat & tidy happily-ever-after ending, and for the spunky but flawed heroine.

The little tidbits of humor were esp. enjoyable to me; sorry I can't find any examples.

The bits of philosophy were also somewhat interesting: "... the climate of richness mus...more

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Nov 17, 2007 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, fiction

Don't be fooled by the cliches. There's a lot more going on in this book than "quirky" and "charming." It's a brutally honest tale of a 17 year old girl coming out of that self-involvement phase and getting a good first look at the world around her. And it tackles the concept of understanding and portraying beauty in a very effective manner. Her father's puzzle exemplifies the puzzle of the novel....you have to pace through the book with Cassandra to get from point A to point B. There's no flipp...more

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Oct 19, 2008 Katrina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved the first half of the book but around chapter 12 I felt like I was ploughing through just to finish/have resolution. I wanted to give the book four stars because Cassandra, the 17-year old narrator who lives with her family in excessive poverty,easily draws the reader in to her world. Dodie Smith surrounds her with characters that are robust and interesting. Before 3/4 way through the book, the author becomes unnecessarily descriptive about impertinent details. While the ending was satis...more

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Sep 12, 2007 Jamie Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: starry eyed young girls, I guess

This novel was, for me, a perfect tripartite marriage of Jane Eyre (foreboding old manses! periods of corporal want! understated lust!), Little Women (detailed accounts of housekeeping in times of dearth and thrift! observant and precocious girls unaware of their own charm!), and the Secret Garden (again, foreboding old manses! understated childish attachment! hope and magic and anticipation!). When I read this novel, I felt strongly the magic and meaning in the mundanities of daily thrift and d...more

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About Dodie Smith

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...more

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The Starlight Barking (The Hundred and One Dalmatians, #2)

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