I Capture the Castle

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith was our August book club selection and what a precious find it was.

Written in the 1940s, I Capture the Castle tells the story of the Mortmain family, living in a dilapidated castle in the English countryside. The story is told through a series of journals by Cassandra Mortmain who relates the tale of her eccentric family.

Her father who was the famous author of a novel and is now suffering from writer's block; her sister Rose who flits about and becomes engaged to Simon Cotton the American who has inherited the estate that includes the castle; Topaz their bohemian stepmother who wants very much to be needed; ; handsome Stephen who has lived at the castle since he was a child and continues to do odd jobs around the place but who is desperately in love with Cassandra.

Cassandra herself is a sweet and witty 17 year old, though her writing and inexperience makes her feel younger as you read about life in the castle through her eyes.

This was a book I wanted to savor.