The head of the Mortmain family is Cassandra Mortmain's father, a writer suffering from writer's block who has not published anything since his first book, a hit entitled Jacob Wresstling. Ten years before the story begins, he took out a 40-year lease on a dilapidated but beautiful castle, hoping to find either inspiration or isolation there; now, his family is selling off the furniture to buy food.
I Capture the Castle is a classic coming-of-age novel which stands the test of time and will endure for as long as boy-girl relationships endure.