I Capture the Castle was the debut novel of author Dodie Smith.
Pub quiz fact: Smith also wrote The Hundred and One Dalmatians, which was later adapted to the film 101 Dalmatians.
I discovered I Capture the Castle during a search for literature relating to families impacted by the criminal justice system.
The novel details the story of the Mortmain family. The father, James, is imprisoned for three months. At some point after his release, his wife sadly dies, leaving him a single parent to his three children; Rose, Cassandra and Thomas.
He marries again, to a lady called Topaz.
In the months after James’ imprisonment, the family’s financial situation worsens. They are forced to move and leave their home behind, relocating to a vacant castle. It sounds grand, but over the course of their tenancy, they end up selling all of their possessions and are left unable to eat properly or heat the place, and simply existing in the bare bones of the once-glamorous establishment, hiding away in the shadows.
James is a writer but following his stint in prison, he acquires writer’s block, meaning that the earning capacity of the entire family unit is practically removed.
The book was first published in 1949 at a time when it was more difficult for women to be of independent means. Although, given my own experience of limited employment after my children’s father was imprisoned, I have to wonder to what extent this has improved.
A major appeal of the story is that it highlights the impact of financial destruction, and we get to understand, from younger daughter Cassandra’s point of view, how this affects her life and that of her family.
The book also explores the fallout of parental imprisonment, and how the sentence for the family continues well beyond the time spent in custody.
There is a particularly difficult section where Cassandra and Thomas decide to re-imprison their father within the castle, in the hope that it will ‘cure’ his writer’s block, and ‘reset’ his mind from the experience of prison.
In an era when psychoanalysis was in it’s infancy, the children do their best to treat ‘like with like’ in a desperate attempt to retrieve the father they once knew, and to restore his creativity.
I Capture the Castle is a coming-of-age novel, beautifully evocative of the era. In contrast to their early desolation, we see how the lives, loves and fortunes of the main characters evolve following the arrival of the owners of the property, from America.
Two wealthy brothers, Neil and Simon, compete for the heart of Rose, Cassandra’s older sister. The Mortmain’s loyal houseboy, Stephen, forever adoring of Cassandra, is also thrown into the mix. As Cassandra develops feelings for Simon, who has proposed to Rose (who has agreed, mostly for financial reasons) the characters become entangled in something of a Shakespearean romantic tussle, the outcome of which only becomes apparent at the novel’s denouement.
For those who prefer visuals, the story has been converted into a film (2003, starring Bill Nighy and Tara Fitzgerald). I have not yet seen the film so will make sure to post a review in a future blog post. If you have read the book or seen the film, please do comment below and let me know your thoughts.
I have included some quotes below on the various themes covered by Smith.
ON THE CASTLE
‘I have just remarked to Rose that our situation is really rather romantic – two girls in this strange and lonely house. She replied that she saw nothing romantic about being shut up in a crumbling ruin surrounded by a sea of mud. I must admit that our home is an unreasonable place to live in. Yet I love it.’
‘One must sink to the depths in order to rise to the heights.’ (Topaz)
ON FOOD
‘How odd it is to remember that ‘tea’ once meant afternoon tea to us – little cakes and thin break and butter in the drawing room. Now it is as solid a meal as we can scrape together, as it has to last us until breakfast.’I was hungry but I didn’t feel like cooking, so I had the most beautiful lunch of cold baked beans – what bliss it is that we can now afford things in tins again! I had bread and butter too, and lettuce and cold rice pudding and two slices of cake (real shop cake) and milk. (After money)’
ON MONEY
‘If you could suggest some ways of earning money,’ I said
‘Or of making it go further– I’m sure you’re all much too artistic to be really practical. Let’s hold a board meeting!’
‘Mother trained us never to talk about our affairs in the village, and I do respect Topaz’s loyalty to Father, but I was sure Miss Marcy must know perfectly well that we are broke’.
‘A thousand pounds for clothes — when one thinks how long poor people could live on it! When one thinks how long we could live on it, for that matter! Oddly, I have never thought of us as poor people — I mean, I have never been terribly sorry for us, as for the unemployed or beggars; though really we have been rather worse off, being unemployable and with no one to beg from.’
“Writing paper is scarce in this house, and I had no intention of tearing sheets out of this exercise book, which is a superb sixpenny one the Vicar gave me. In the end, Miss Marcy took the middle pages out of her library record, which gave us a pleasant feeling that we were stealing from the government, and then we sat round the table and elected her chairman.”
ON EMOTIONS
‘Another great luxury is letting myself cry – I always feel marvellously peaceful after that. But it is difficult to arrange times for it, as my face takes so long to recover; it isn’t safe in the mornings if I am to look normal when I meeter father at lunch, and the afternoons are no better, as Thomas is home by five. It would be all right in bed at night but such a waste, as that is my happiest time. Days when father goes over to read in the Scoatney library are good crying days.’
ON SUFFERING
‘Perhaps watching someone you love suffer can teach you even more than suffering yourself can.’
ON WRITING
‘Perhaps if I make myself write I shall find out what is wrong with me.’
‘I am surprised to see how much I have written; with stories even a page can take me hours, but the truth seems to flow out as fast as I can get it down.’
ON READING
‘Still, looking through the old volumes was soothing, because thinking of the past made the present seem a little less real.’
ON SUFFERING (after the imprisoned father)
Perhaps watching someone you love suffer can teach you even more than suffering yourself can.
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF HOPE
‘Oh, it is wonderful to wake up in the morning with things to look forward to!’
ON WRITING
Perhaps if I make myself write I shall find out what is wrong with me
I am surprised to see how much I have written; with stories even a page can take me hours, but the truth seems to flow out as fast as I can get it down.
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My name is Annie Hope. I am a writer with lived experience as a family member of someone who had the Knock. I am a professional writer, and I am able to work with your organisation, charity or with you as an individual in a variety of different ways. Please have a look at my website to find out more.
I also run a free writing group for family members of those who are convicted of sexual offences. You can find out more about the group here. You can find blog posts with free advice about writing and helpful tips in my main blog index here.
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