I Capture the Castle in Around the Year in 52 Books

Jan 13, 2013 Book Concierge rated it really liked it

Shelves: england, sisters, library, concierge, women-writers, classic, coming-of-age, british, jane-austen

This is a coming-of-age novel that pays homage to Jane Austen. Our narrator is Cassandra Mortmain, age 17, who lives in a dilapidated castle with her father (a once-famous author), stepmother (a Bohemian given to outdoor nudity), older sister Rose (a beauty who longs for change), younger brother Thomas (perhaps the most sensible of the lot), and Stephen (orphaned son of their late housekeeper). Trying to find a way out of their dire poverty, and coming up with no plan whatsoever, Rose makes a wi This is a coming-of-age novel that pays homage to Jane Austen. Our narrator is Cassandra Mortmain, age 17, who lives in a dilapidated castle with her father (a once-famous author), stepmother (a Bohemian given to outdoor nudity), older sister Rose (a beauty who longs for change), younger brother Thomas (perhaps the most sensible of the lot), and Stephen (orphaned son of their late housekeeper). Trying to find a way out of their dire poverty, and coming up with no plan whatsoever, Rose makes a wish by kissing a gargoyle in the kitchen; what can it hurt, and maybe something – anything – might happen! Enter two charming, wealthy American brothers, Simon and Neil Cotton, who have just inherited the nearby Scoatney Hall, and events – exciting and improbable – occur to change the family’s fortunes.

The strength of the novel is Cassandra’s first-person narrative. She is witty, naïve, intelligent, observant, an ordinary child and an extraordinary young woman. The way she “captures” her eccentric family and their exciting adventures (I loved when Rose was mistaken for an escaped circus bear), is nothing short of endearing. I will admit that the plot moves slowly. We are, after all, talking about a few months time-span, and much time is spent in expounding on the joys of their surroundings (for example, when they stopped to identify the smells and sounds they encountered on a country walk). But there was enough going on to keep me interested: Will father ever write again? Will Stephen become the next cinema heartthrob? Will one of the brothers propose (which brother and to which girl)?

It’s gentle, humorous and has some wonderfully lyrical writing. The setting – the barely-refurbished and mostly bare castle - is practically a character, it is so vividly described. Smith’s novel has endured because it contains some basic universal lessons about learning to love, dealing with adversity, being true to your friends (even when it hurts), and about growing up. Through Cassandra, for a time I was seventeen again – excited, anxious, enthralled, puzzled, and optimistic about my future. Like one of my favorite novels, the ending is ambiguous (“After all, tomorrow is another day!”), and rightly so. I love being able to imagine what will happen to these characters as they go through life.
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Jun 10, 2017 Wendy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: infp, classics, liked-the-movie, 2017

I'm ashamed to report that the seventeen-year-old narrator of this book is the spitting image of seventeen-year-old me (minus the impoverished bohemian family living in 600 year old ruins), and my toes curled with the discomfort of certain teenage idiocies that hit me a little too close to home, most involving young love. I adored Cassandra's astute yet askew observations and often hilarious if meandering vignettes, yet cringed at her (realistic) inability to appreciate a certain devoted Stephen ...more

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Dec 06, 2023 Holli rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: listened-to-it

3.8

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Oct 26, 2013 Kaye rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 0fiction, authorfrom-britain

What a charming book! Although it sounds doubtful, it was highly reviewed on A Good Read, so I got a (used) copy. What a pleasant read it was. Interesting characters, well written.

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