I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith has been cited as a seminal influence by writers as various as Antonia Fraser, JK Rowling, Joanna Trollope and Jilly Cooper. It has never been out of print, since its publication in 1948, and now it's been made into a film for the first time.
Set in Suffolk in the thirties, it is a coming of age tale which captures the narrator, 17 year old Cassandra Mortmain "between childhood and adultery".
Dodie Smith's biographer Valerie Grove joins Jenni to discuss the new film, and the life of Dodie Smith. I Capture The Castle, Momentum Pictures, Rated PG Opens in UK cinemas Friday 9 May 2003
