I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I Capture the Castle is narrated by seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, who's keeping a diary over a period of a little over a year. In it, she describes how she and her eccentric family live in a half ruined castle in the English countryside. The members of the household are Cassandra’s father, a once famous writer who hasn’t written a line in years; her younger brother Thomas, who is in school; her stepmother Topaz, once an artist’s model in London; her older sister Rose; and finally Stephen, the son of their late housekeeper, who is completely devoted to Cassandra.

Cassandra and her family live in poverty – poverty of the what-are-we-going-to-eat-tomorrow kind. When two American young men, the heir to Scoatney Hall and his brother, make their acquaintance, Rose Mortmain sees this as a possible way out of their poverty. And if by now you’re reminded of Pride and Prejudice, worry not. The sisters are reminded of it as well.

I loved this book so much. Though living in the kind of poverty the Mortmain family experiences must be no fun (and the book does show the hard and ugly side of it), I Capture the Castle is by no means a depressing book. It's humorous and insightful, and charming and touching, and beautiful in all sorts of ways. The characters are all eccentric, but still completely full-fleshed. I loved them all, but most of all Cassandra herself.

Cassandra’s voice is probably my favourite thing about the book (but trust me, it’s hard to pick). She’s so funny, so open and honest, so vulnerable, so contemplative, so…real. I loved having the chance of seeing the world through her eyes. She most certainly does manage to capture the castle, as well as everyone in it – the way she portrays people’s personalities, their relationships, the little silences and the spaces between them, the things they do not say – is absolutely perfect.

Cassandra’s thoughts and feelings are a great part of what the book is about – thoughts and feelings about growing up and trying to find your place in life, falling in love for the first time, facing change in relationships and in one’s circumstances, her doubts and the things she wonders about, etc. But please don’t take this to mean there isn’t much of a plot. There are love triangles, surprises and changes, and all sorts of funny episodes. There's even a small mystery of sorts.

Also, Cassandra wants to be a writer and she loves books, and late one night she and her sister discuss whether they prefer Charlotte Brontë or Jane Austen (and conclude that the ideal would be either one of them with just a little bit of the other). How can one not love her?

I Capture the Castle is such a lovely book. On top of everything there’s the writing, which is beautiful enough to make me want to read everything Dodie Smith has ever written. Also, though the book was first published in 1948, and is set even earlier if I’m not mistaken, it feels surprisingly modern. Or maybe timeless is a better word.

One last thing: I just loved the ending. It leaves a few things unresolved, but I thought that was fitting, and it’s both hopeful and bittersweet.

A few favourite passages:

He sounded faintly sad. Perhaps he finds beauty saddening – I do myself sometimes. Once when I was quite little I asked father why this was and he explained that it was due to our knowledge of beauty’s evanescence, which reminds us that we ourselves shall die. Then he said I was probably too young to understand him; but I understood perfectly.

But words are very inadequate – anyway, my words are. Could any one reading them picture our kitchen by firelight, or Belmotte Tower rising towards the moon-silvered clouds, or Stephen managing to look both noble and humble? When I read a book, I put in all the imagination I can, so that it is almost like writing the book as well as reading it – or rather, it is like living it. It makes reading so much more exciting, but I don’t suppose many people try to do it.

Other Blog Reviews:
A Striped Armchair
Framed and Booked
Chain Reading
Bending Bookshelf

(Let me know if I missed yours.)