Saturday, 20 March 2010

New acquisition/I capture the castle 410

I'm still finding ways and means to acquire books despite having given up their purchase for Lent. The other week I joined "Bookhopper", a site where you can upload books which you no longer want, to see if anyone else wants them, and in return have a look at other people's unwanted books. About half of the books I uploaded were snapped up immediately, and I managed to get a VMC that I didn't have in return - I capture the castle. I'm surprised that I didn't have a copy of this book as it is one of my favourites , so I was very happy when that arrived.

I won't write much about it here because there are any number of reviews on Amazon and blogs and librarythings, and it is difficult to do justice to such a lovely book not having read it especially recently. But I will just mention its opening lines which are perhaps my favourite of all opening lines..."I write this sitting in the kitchen sink" - what a wonderful picture that conjures up, and how could one not want to read on from that beginning??

It's actually been published 3 times by Virago, most recently with a film tie in edition - I highly recommend the film which is a lovely adaption starring Ramola Garai, Rose Byrne, Tara Fitzgerald and Bill Nighy). My copy is the rather lovely middle one. Definitely a 5* VMC.

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8 comments:

  1. Astrid (Mrs.B)20 March 2010 at 08:03

    This is a beautiful novel! I have a non-Virago edition that I treasure.

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  2. JoAnn20 March 2010 at 13:34

    Another favorite novel with a film I've yet to see... need to step up my Netflix viewing!

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  3. Anonymous20 March 2010 at 16:32

    Oo, love your cover! I'm fond of mine but it's not as nice as that, and my copy's a tiny bit water-damaged. I don't remember the film awfully well, but I vaguely recall that I thought it lacked the innocence of the book. Maybe I should give it another try.

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  4. web20 March 2010 at 21:45

    Had no idea Virago had published it; I own a couple of original editions. That first cover looks rather nice, the third awful, have no idea what's going on in the second. That is my all-time favorite book and I wouldn't see the movie even if it would help the space program.

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  5. Anonymous20 March 2010 at 22:09

    I love I Capture the Csstle! Did you know that The Folio Society reissued an edition of it? Not that I ever buy from them...

    By the way, does the Virago have Dodie Smith's illustrations?

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  6. Danielle21 March 2010 at 01:33

    I love this one, too! It's about time for a reread I think. And I lucked out and found the top edition of the book at a library sale! I also have a version published here in the US--one of the few books I own multiple copies of.

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  7. verity21 March 2010 at 12:12

    Mrs B - I first read it in a non Virago edition.

    JoAnn - I hope you enjoy the film.

    Jenny - it is a lovely cover - I lucked out :)


    Web - I'm not a fan of the movie tie in version either!

    Frisbee - no, but I'd love a copy of the Bodley Head edition which is a rather nice shade of yellow and the first copy of it that Ir ead. No illustrations in my copy sadly.

    Danielle - I wouldn't mind owning multiples of this - I'd love a copy of the edition that I read first in the school library with a primrose yellow cover.

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  8. Anonymous23 March 2010 at 06:16

    I loved this book, although my edition is a Vintage one, so doesn't look like any of the above.

    Glad you found this book - it's a definite must-have on the shelf. Congratulations :)

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