Majestic Wine, Empire Stores, FranklinCovey, Shop Online at BHS for Top Deals on Latest Fashions, Home Shopping Network, Rymans, Laura Ashley Chapters, Canada . Buy Now Pay Later With Interest Free Credit | Aviva Home & Contents Insurance I Capture the Castle Author: Dodie Smith Trade Paperback Usually ships in 1-2 weeks This item's supplier can usually deliver to us in 1-2 weeks, but there may be a delay if the supplier runs out of stock. Our Price: $9.99 You could save $1.00 (10%) with our iREWARDS Program Ordering is 100% secure . Spend $39 or more at chapters.indigo.ca and your order ships free!. ( Details ) ISBN: 0099845008 Published: May 2000 | Published by Random House chapters.indigo Review Call it Jane Austen meets My So-Called Life, set in 1930s Suffolk. The castle in question is the crumbling, unlikely home of 17-year old Cassandra Mortmain, who seeks to "capture" its essence in a journal -- her fledgling effort to become a writer like her father. Or rather, unlike her father. William Mortmain hasn't written a line in 12 years, but he remains a literary cult figure. But after a violent scene which landed him in prison for three months, his talent seems to have dried up and with it, the family's fortunes. The ruined Norman castle is a romantic but dreary place for a family, even one as mixed-up as the Mortmains. Aside from observant but ingenuous Cassandra, there is her beautiful sister Rose, intelligent brother Thomas, their stepmother Topaz -- a bohemian artist's model -- and handsome house boy Stephen, who is in love with Cassandra. This unusual family scrapes by in this implausible edifice, without any real hope of improving their situation. When Rose makes a joking pact with the Devil to find a husband and a pair of wealthy American brothers stumble into their lives, the family is thrown into further disarray. Suddenly a plot is hatched to get Rose married to the heir and the cerebral foreigners are riling the unstable father into exerting himself socially and intellectually again. As the relationships between these wildly complex and fascinating characters form, dissolve and re-form again, the novel twists its way through a calendar year, which ends in a way readers will never expect. This remarkable novel is most memorable for its setting: the decrepit castle and Belmotte tower darkly outline the family and class conflicts at play in this engrossing work of fiction. From the Publisher An enchanting novel for older children by the author of 101 Dalmatians . Seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Over six turbulent months, Cassandra tries to hone her writing skills, filling three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries which chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle’s walls, and her own first descent into love. A BBC production is planned, to be directed by Tim Fyell of Madame Bovary fame, with Mike Newell as executive producer. On the Jacket This is the journal of Cassandra Mortmain; an extraordinary acount of life with her equally extraordinary family. First, there is her accentric father. Then there is Rose -- beautiful, vain and bored -- and her stepmother Topaz, an artist's model who likes to commune with nature. Finally, there is Stephen, dazzlingly handsome and hopelessly in love with Cassandra. IN the cold and crumbling castle which is their home, Cassandra records events with characteristic honesty, as she tries to come to terms with her own feelings. The result is both marvellously funny and genuinely moving. Review Quotes "One of the most charismatic narrators I’ve ever met." --J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books Reader Reviews Average Reader Review: Number of Reviews: 5 1. Simply fantastic! Reviewer: Susan from New Brunswick (horselovingangel@hotmail.com) Date: 2/5/2003 4:34:50 PM This book is one of the finest I have ever had the chance to read. I stumbled across is one day in my school library, and am very thankful I did. It was so descriptive and the characters so real. By the end of it, I felt that I actually knew them personally. It was so splendid to read, I just couldn't put it down! When I finished it, I was so terribly sad that my marvelous adventure was over. And it has one of the best and surprising endings I've ever come across. If you are doubting about buying or reading this book, don't! Once you read it, you'll never forget it. It certainly captured me! 2. Best Book Ever Reviewer: Jordan Savard from Ottawa (jsavard29@hotmail.com) Date: 8/14/2002 5:08:31 PM This book was the best book I've ever read. I couldn't put it down. I read it during school, at home...basically everywhere I went. I lost the book and when I came to get a new one there were no more left. All stores should have this book in stock. It deserves to be read. 3. I Capture the Castle Reviewer: Scott from Ont. Date: 5/5/2002 3:26:10 PM This was an excellent book! I would recommend it to anyone who thinks that their family is strange. If you do, think again for you have never met Cassandra's family! The scenes are romantic, heartwarming, and even humourous. Not only did she 'capture the castle', but Cassandra has also captured the hearts of everyone who has read this book! 4. Fascinating Reviewer: Alicia from cambridge/ontario Date: 12/27/2001 11:51:45 AM This book was the most intriguing piece of work I've ever chanced to read. It kept me going obsessively for about 6 straight hours until I finished. Cassandra is such a deep character, she's so real, and the plot takes some interesting curves. If you haven't read this book, you should. 5. It Captured My Weekend Reviewer: Jennifer from Ontario Date: 2/16/2000 7:31:59 PM A lovely story about coming of age, and the challenges of leaving childhood behind. This novel had great characters, was hilarious, and at the same time pulled at your heart-strings. I started reading it on Saturday morning and I up late Saturday night fininshing it!!! And by the end, you are desparately wishing for a sequal!! I loved it. Read all of the reviews... 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