208. 'I Capture the Castle' by Dodie Smith

Back to books. Back to basics.

Yes, Dodie Smith wrote '101 Dalmatians'. So she is responsible for Pongo (named after her own dog), Perdita, Cruella De Vil, and the Midnight Bark. She is also responsible for this:

'I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.'

Sigh.

So we already know that we are forever in her debt. But then we get to read the rest of 'I Capture the Castle' and it just gets better.

Anyone who has ever been seventeen, ever been lonely, ever been filled with that mixture of anticipation and anxiety that precedes adulthood (and in some cases continues well into it), should read this book.

It was written in 1949, so it isn't modern. It hasn't got any technology in it, and you will not find the word 'digital' within its pages. She probably wrote it by hand, and then typed it on a typewriter while wearing a twinset and pearls. Then she probably had a cigarette and a martini before changing for supper.

I wonder if she had any idea that 62 years after she wrote it, her book would still be making people happy. Hope so.