I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

read by Emilia Fox

Emilia Fox brings great depth and passion to Dodi Smith's wonderful tale of growing up and first love. Most people who read I Capture the Castle become lifelong devotees and proselytisers of a book which is difficult to forget. Peopled by a beautifully drawn cast of characters, the book is curiously both a period piece and somehow timeless. The universal emotions depicted combined with the undeniably exotic setting make it so.

Cassandra Mortmain and her singular family - writer father, artist's model stepmother, pulchritudinous older sister, gifted younger brother, and her admirers - family servant Stephen and the rich new owners of the eponymous castle, Simon and Neil Cotton - weave an unforgettable story, as recorded by the seventeen-year-old journal writer.

Often mistakenly classified as a novel for teen aged girls, I Capture the Castle will entrance all but the hard-bitten listener and would make a welcome gift for audiobook aficionados of all ages and either gender.

Quite brilliant!

* * * * *
© 2008 AudioBooksReview