Recommended Reading: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I loved this book. It is written in the first person, which can be annoying or amazing depending on whether the plot is balanced with the intimacy of the narrator writing about their feelings and perceptions. And who hasn't wanted to live in a castle? This is a beautiful story about the castle, the English countryside, and family relationships.
The story seemed so real, I kept wondering about the author and where her ideas came from. Had she ever slept in a four poster bed in a drafty castle? According to Wikipedia she did grow up in an old house in England and she wrote I Capture the Castle during WWII while living in Pennsylvania and feeling homesick for England.

I remember watching a movie about this book about a decade ago, but I had forgotten most of it. I just remember it being quirky and a bit foreign. But now that I have read the book I am so anxious to watch it again. If for no other reason than the scenery!