I Capture The Castle

This enchanting novel tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her unusual family who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Cassandra's eccentric father is a writer whose first book took the literary world by storm but he has since failed to write a single word and now spends his time reading detective fiction. Cassandra's sister, Rose, despairs of her family's circumstances and determines to marry their affluent American landlord. She is helped and, sometimes, hindered in this by their bohemian stepmother, an artists' model who likes to commune with nature. Finally there is Stephen who is hopelessly in love with Cassandra. Amid this maelstrom Cassandra hones her writing skills, candidly capturing the events that take place within the castle's walls, and her own first descent into love.

Dorothy Gladys 'Dodie' Smith was born in 1896 in Lancashire and she was one of the most successful female dramatists of her generation. Her first novel, I Capture the Castle, was written when she lived in America during the 1940's and marked her crossover debut from playwright to novelist. The novel became an immediate success and was produced as a play in 1954. She has written numerous other novels but is best known today for The Hundred and One Dalmatians, a story for younger readers. The Hundred and One Dalmatians became the basis of two Disney films.

"I know of few novels that inspire as much fierce lifelong affection in their readers" -- Joanna Trollope "Everyone I've passed it on to has found it a hit - it works every time, for absolutely everybody" -- Nigella Lawson "Smith rivals Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate series for 1930s toff charm" -- Katy Guest The Independent "A deliciously evocative portrait of England" -- Tasmina Perry Daily Mail "Dreamy and funny...an odd, shimmering timelessness clings to its pages. A thousand and one cheers for its reissue. A +" Entertainment Weekly