I Capture the Castle

 

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Rating: 5

Coming-of-Age Fiction

First off, I must say, I loved this book! 

I Capture the Castle was written in 1948 by Dodie Smith who is best known for her book and the Disney movie 101 Dalmatians. There is nothing similar about these two stories.

This story is told by a 17-year-old narrator, Cassandra Mortmain, who fills three journals with her thoughts over a six-month period. She is writing in her journal partly to practice speed writing and partly to teach herself how to write a novel. 

At the start of her journal, the family is living in poverty in a run-down castle in Suffolk, England purchased by her father after some success in publishing his own book. But ever since then, he has had writer's block and has not been able to produce anything at all.

Twenty-one-year-old Rose, Cassandra's sister, is desperate to find a rich man to marry so that their family will be able to rise above their current circumstances. 

When two young men from America happen upon the castle one evening unexpectedly, the tide begins to turn. 

Cassandra's journals are thoughtful and honest, full of emotion, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. And sometimes they made me cry. That's my kind of book.

This would be a great summer read to immerse yourself in. You won't want it to end.