I Capture The Castle - Novel and Movie

If I had to name my favorite novel of all time, my answer would have to be 'I Capture The Castle' by Dodie Smith. This charming story was written by an author better known for '101 Dalmations', but don't let that deceive you. 'I Capture The Castle' is a more mature work that will appeal to teenage girls, to aspiring authors and all who appreciate skilled writing, and to every woman who remembers what it was to once teeter on the brink of adulthood.

Written in the voice of the heroine, the spirited but sensitive Cassandra Mortmain, the novel reads like a conversation with a delightful young friend. It is a conversation in which Cassandra will take you by the hand and let you not only live a while among her eccentric family but also share with her the unexpected experience of falling in love for the first time.

I first encounterd Cassandra and 'I Capture The Castle' when I was a young teen. It was a time when I had a huge appetite for books and worked my way steadily through the Young Adult section of the local library. However, out of all the books that came my way, this was the one that made the biggest impression on me. I fell for Cassandra and her family. Over the next 20 years, I forgot the title and author of the book, but the famous first line - "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink" - stayed firmly in my memory.

A few years ago I rediscovered 'I Capture The Castle' when a wonderful film was made based on the novel. I had a strong feeling of deja-vu when I saw the title, and was even more excited to see the trailer. It was like meeting up with an old and dear childhood friend. And so it was that not only did I see the characters come to life on the screen, but I also bought myself a copy of the novel. This old friend is one that will be staying by my side to be read again and again.

This is not your ordinary novel. For one thing, the narrator and her family live in a castle (partly ruined) in the rural countryside of 1930s England. For another, the intelligent young heroine and her larger-than-life family are poorer than church mice. At the beginning of the novel, they are on the edge of hopeless poverty, living on the wages of the only capable person in their household: the young and selfless orphan Stephen (who doubles as their servant in exchange for sharing their home).

Just when it seems that the Mortmain family is doomed, Fate steps in... in the guise of brothers Simon and Neil Cotton, brought up in the United States but heir to the local country estate. So begins a family plot to snare the eldest brother, Simon, for beautiful but clueless sister Rose. 17 year old sister Cassandra, who has no time for romantic nonsense, is meanwhile fending off the devoted attentions of Stephen and capturing unfolding events in her journal.

What the two sisters don't reckon on is that love is rarely so straightforward, and that their own hearts may just ruin the perfect plan.

The Narrator

Cassandra is one of fiction's most enchanting characters. She combines innocence with a quick wit, sometimes coming over as a little pretentious, but never dull. She is an aspiring novelist with a wonderful eye for detail, and reading the novel really does feel like peeking over her shoulder as she sits speed-writing in her journal in the most unlikely places. She spins enchanting tales that lift the plot from poverty and desperation and turn everything she sees to magic. Whether it is ruined stones, the first signs of Spring, or a trip to London, Cassandra can make anything she turns her attention to come to vivid life. But, like Jane Austen's Emma, she is so caught up in the lives of those around her that her own emotions take her by surprise.

Cassandra, in her own words:

"I am seventeen, look younger, feel older. I am no beauty but have a neatish face."

"I feel rather like a Bronte myself, writing by the light of a guttering candle with my fingers so numb I can hardly hold the pencil."

Cassandra's sister

Rose Mortmain, at almost 21, is the beauty in the family. She is the one who seems to most miss their dead mother, and the one who suffers most at being isolated in a castle without the company of other young people or even the consolation of fine clothes and possessions. Her quick emotions and longing to experience life make the seclusion of her existence unbearable. This leads her to dramatic acts and wild gestures, such as threatening to sell her soul to the Devil in exchange for a little excitement.

Cassandra describes Rose:

"Rose looks particulary fetching by firelight because she is a pinkish person; her skin has a pink glow and her hair is pinkish gold, very light and feathery. Although I am rather used to her I know she is a beauty."

"Poor Rose hates most things she has and envies most things she hasn't."

James, Topaz and Thomas

The girls' father, James Mortmain, once had a great success with a novel. However, after year upon year of writers' block, his family begin to despair of him ever doing more than shutting himself away in the tower with detective novels. The rest of the family tiptoe around his moods in their wavering belief in his genius.

Topaz is the name of the beautiful 29 year old step-mother who used to be an artists' model and is unashamedly eccentric. She plays the lute, is a hopeless if well-meaning substitute mother to the girls, and lends an air of drama to their lives.

Thomas is the 15 year old brother - a bright but otherwise ordinary boy who stays good-humored in the face of adversity, apart from occasional quarrels with his sisters.

Simon, Neil and Stephen

Simon and Neil Cotton are the brothers, brought up separately in different parts of the USA and only recently reunited, who come to England to claim Simon's inheritance. Here they become captivated by the Mortmain family - particularly Rose - in a turn of events that threaten to tear the two families apart.

Stephen Colly is a young man who has become absorbed into the Mortmain family after his own mother's death. Almost invisible to those he does so much to help, this working class boy who lives with them as a servant is the true gentleman of the novel. Both handsome and kind, he is the only member of the household with any common sense. He worships Cassandra, but she finds she cannot give her love where it is most deserved...

Here's your chance. If you could rewrite the novel, which of the young men would you have chosen for Cassandra to love?

A movie of a book is sometimes a disappointment. Not this one. The film captures all the charm and enchantment of the original novel with a perfectly chosen cast combined with beautiful cinematography.

The talented young British actress Romola Garai is a fresh-faced Cassandra, and is joined by Australian Rose Byrne who shares a first-name with her vivacious and flirtatious character.

Bill Nighy takes the role of the wild eyed, unpredictable James Mortmain. His flamboyant wife is played by Tara Fitzgerald, who while not matching the physical description of Topaz, doesn't fail to bring her other characteristics to life in dramatic detail.

The Cotton brothers are portrayed by Henry Thomas and Marc Blucas, with Henry Cavill as the handsome but out-of-luck Stephen Colley.

Although set in rural Suffolk, filming took place on the Isle of Man.

See a preview of this enchanting film closely based on the novel by Dodie Smith.