Rating: 
Summary: Interesting...but not so good ending
Review: A couple of my friends recommended this book to me since I was, at the time, reading Pride and Prejudice. The descriptions and commentary from Cassandra are wonderful and quite breathtaking, but the only setback is the ending which leaves one with many questions and is not satisfying.
Rating: 
Summary: Enchanting
Review: A seventeen-year-old girl and a six-hundred-year-old castle¡Ðwhat an interesting match! From the very start of the novel, the clever and humourous narration "captures" the reader's heart and keeps them in expectation all the way to the end. Reading it is such a delightful and enjoyable experience!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful tale of sisterhood, first love & family loyalties
Review: Cassandra Mortmain is the middle child in an eccentric English family. Her father is a once-published, once-celebrated author who has had writer's block for years, and as a result, his wife and three children are on the brink of starvation, although they live in a crumbling, albeit leased, castle. They hope that their father will one day begin writing again, or that Cassandra's beautiful elder sister, Rose, will marry well and save them all. Enter the American Cotton brothers, who are wealthy and have just inherited the nearby estate of Scoatney, as well as the landlordship of the Mortmain's dwelling. Rose Mortmain and her stepmother see nothing but dollar signs as they scheme to marry Rose off to Simon, the eldest Cotton. But Cassandra has fallen for Simon herself... I was skeptical of this book because the cover was so outdated and plain. The story itself is set in the 1930's, but the book was published in 1948, and it seemed so dated. But once I started reading, I could scarcely put it down. This is classic English literature at its best, with a storyline that will pass from age to age without ever seeming old-fashioned. I highly recommend it and plan to keep my copy forever!!
Rating: 
Summary: Capture this book!
Review: I came across this book accidentally. My co-worker had it on the library reference desk. She said it was the next book in her book discussion group. After she told me a little about it I decided to read it. Then, I had second thoughts. So, I read reviews of it on Amazon. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to read it when I read that people said it was like Jane Austen would write if she was around today. Even though I'm a former English major and a librarian, I will commit the great heresy and admit I don't like Jane Austen. She's too hoity-toity for me. But, then, in a review I read the opening couple of sentences: "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. That is, my feet are in it; the rest of me is on the draining board, which I have padded with our dog's blanket and the tea-cosy." This is such a great and intriguing opening that I had to know what was going on. I'm glad I decided to read it. It is a delightful novel, especially describing the poverty the Mortmains experience living in the castle. (You don't associate living in a castle with poverty! That, right there, makes the book different.) I have to admit, it does rather read like a modern Jane Austen and yet I didn't mind all the talk about who loved whom and who was going to marry whom. I also enjoyed sharing the challenge of getting James Mortmain to go back to his writing. It's a very good read with interesting characters, including the castle itself. And, if you like romances, you will really like this book.
Rating:
Summary: Capture this book!
Review: I came across this book accidentally. My co-worker had it on the library reference desk. She said it was the next book in her book discussion group. After she told me a little about it I decided to read it. Then, I had second thoughts. So, I read reviews of it on Amazon. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to read it when I read that people said it was like Jane Austen would write if she was around today. Even though I'm a former English major and a librarian, I will commit the great heresy and admit I don't like Jane Austen. She's too hoity-toity for me. But, then, in a review I read the opening couple of sentences: "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. That is, my feet are in it; the rest of me is on the draining board, which I have padded with our dog's blanket and the tea-cosy." This is such a great and intriguing opening that I had to know what was going on. I'm glad I decided to read it. It is a delightful novel, especially describing the poverty the Mortmains experience living in the castle. (You don't associate living in a castle with poverty! That, right there, makes the book different.) I have to admit, it does rather read like a modern Jane Austen and yet I didn't mind all the talk about who loved whom and who was going to marry whom. I also enjoyed sharing the challenge of getting James Mortmain to go back to his writing. It's a very good read with interesting characters, including the castle itself. And, if you like romances, you will really like this book.
Rating:
Summary: I would give it more than 5 stars If I could!
Review: I have read this book because it is in the BBC big read list, and I loved it. I think this book will always stay in my "All Time Favourite" List along with books like Pride and Prejudice. Even thought I usually dont like books that doesnt tell me exactly what will happen to the character, but this one is an exception because it made me always think of the charatcters and what might happen to them.
Casandra is a really special character and you just feel like you are living with her when you read the book, she was just like a friend to me whom I have known for ages.
I would reccommend this book to anyone who enjoy reading diaries and romance. Their are also many parts that will make you laught.
I would say get it and have fun reading it. You will love it!!
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable, imaginative, and wonderful book
Review: I loved this. I absolutely loved it. The lead character Cassandra was wonderful. She was so smart and romantic. She made me laugh and even cry a little. This has to be one of the most touching stories I have ever had the pleasure to read. I finished this book in a little over one sitting and I was so upset when it was over.I Capture the Castle is extremely romantic, yet very appropriate for young girls...not just older ones. This is a definite keeper. I would recommend it in an instant.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating, I couldn't put it down!
Review: I started this book around midnight and read for the next four hours straight. And then for some godforsaken reason, this book gave me an urge to go for a very early morning jog. I came home refreshed after my run and you know what I did then? Picked up the novel and resumed reading. This book was a breath of fresh air, it really makes a person hopeful. Cassandra Mortmain is witty and funny and makes you feel as if you are literally there with her in the castle. Some people may think it moves too slowly, but I think that is part of the charm. Every detail is "captured." This has become one of my favorites! Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A classic in every sense of the word and more!
Review: I stumbled upon the book through recommendations and was interested to learn that the author wrote this in the 1940's and the book is set in the 1930's. I also loved the fact that Dodie [the author] had written 101 Dalmatians. To be honest I did have very high hopes for the book. While it was written with wit and wisdom I was bothered at finding the usage of the same extraordinary rare words over and over. I thought the story started out wonderfully; a girl loving where she is and loving who she is and being content while wanting so much more. It is the life of a young girl who wants only the best for her father, sister, brother, step mother, and friend/hand-boy. It was no surprise and I knew it was coming ... that she would fall for the wrong man which was disappointing. I hoped that there would be a better end; that somehow for once an author could actually pull it off. As the author had our young main character put it ... she loved a book that "left you wondering." Some just do not care for the way it is done, I being one. Overall the book was worth reading and I did enjoy the time I spent.
Rating:
Summary: Will capture your heart
Review: Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, an aspiring author, is keeping a journal in which she chronicles her life in a ramshackle old English castle. Life is not easy for the Mortmains. Most of the family's possessions and furnishings have been sold off, they do without electricity, and there is barely enough to eat. In spite of all this, the family keeps a cheerful outlook and manages to get by, thanks in part to the generosity of the wealthy American Cotton family who has inherited the estate upon which the castle sits and who have taken the Mortmains under their wing. The Mortmains are an offbeat family. Cassandra has flights of fancy and unusual schemes that often have unexpected results. Father, an eccentric and innovative writer, is suffering from severe writer's block and can no longer support the family. He spends his time holed up in the gatehouse reading novels. Stepmother Topaz is a flighty artist's model who enjoys roaming the estate in the buff. Cassandra's older sister Rose is tired of living hand-to-mouth, and she decides to find a way to marry the landlord's wealthy grandson. Handsome Stephen, a hired hand who stays on with the family even though the Mortmains cannot afford to pay him, has difficulty hiding his unrequited love for Cassandra. First published in 1948 and set in the 1930s, the story has an old-fashioned feel to it, especially on the subject of courtship and marriage. It also highlights the cultural differences at that time between the Americans and the British. Possessing a wisdom and maturity beyond her years, Cassandra spends much time analyzing the people and events that surround her and then recording her observations. "Contemplation," she says, "seems to be about the only luxury that costs nothing." Through her journals, Cassandra's voice is sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and always endearing as she describes her concerns, her hopes, and her first love. "I capture the Castle" is recommended for both young adults and adults as a warm coming-of-age story. Eileen Rieback
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