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  • Published: 30 January 2017
  • ISBN: 9780141371504
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 544
  • RRP: $19.99

I Capture the Castle




An absolute classic coming-of-age novel from the 1940s, with an irresistible narrator, which fans of contemporary writers such as Meg Rosoff, Rainbow Rowell or E Lockhart will love.

"I write this sitting in the kitchen sink" is the memorable first line of this enchanting coming-of-age story, told in the form of Cassandra Mortmain's journal. Cassandra wittily describes life growing up in a crumbling castle, with her father who suffers from crippling writer's block, her glamorous but ineffectual step-mother and her vain but beloved sister Rose. When two visiting Americans arrive, all of their lives are turned upside down, and Cassandra experiences her first love.

This is a classic coming-of-age story, beloved of millions of teenage and adult readers, and sure to be enjoyed for generations more.

  • Published: 30 January 2017
  • ISBN: 9780141371504
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 544
  • RRP: $19.99

About the author

Dodie Smith

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.

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Praise for I Capture the Castle

Everyone I've passed it on to has found it a hit - it works every time, for absolutely everybody

Nigella Lawson

Every time I meet someone who also loves I Capture the Castle, I know we must be kindred spirits

Jenny Han, bestselling author of To All the Boys I've Loved Before

I know of few novels that inspire as much fierce lifelong affection in their readers

Joanna Trollope