Customer Reviews

The New Moon with the Old

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I picked up Dodie Smith's "I capture the castle" by chance and I totally fell in love with this amazing story teller. In "The new moon with the old" Dodie Smith takes you to this fantasic world in which everything is possible. Four rather spoiled young siblings are suddenly faced with reality when their father, who takes little interest in them other then keeping them in the lap of luxury, is charged with fraud and flees the country.
The book describes the adventures of each young sibling, the youngest being 14 and the oldest in his early twenties, as they venture into the world.
Their adventures are truly amazing and would strain credibility if Dodie Smith were not such an incredible storyteller who keeps you interested and takes you along the fantastic ride. By book's end you are left longing for more.
It's a pity that Dodie Smith's books are so hard to find but they are certainly worth the search.

In 1963, when I was 12, the librarian at my Junior High School (middle school these days) recommended 'I Capture The Castle' to me, and I fell in loce. Shortly thereafter Smith came out with "The New Moon With The Old," which I also fell in love with.
In '65' and '67 Smith published two more novels, the charming "The Town In Bloom" perhaps my favorite -- and "It Ends With Revelations," publishing her last novel, "A Tale Of Two Families" in 1970.
In 1971, when I was 20, I sent Dodie a fan letter, and we corresponded for years; and over time she sent me copies of her 4 volumes of autobiography, never published in the states. She was my mentor as a young poet, and in the late 70s, when my life partner and I went to England, I wrote to Dodie, and she invited Peter and me to tea at her home in Finchingfields, Essex. At this time she was over 80, very tiny, rather eccentric but a lot of fun. I periodically reread all her novels, and I especially like "The New Moon With The Old." I heartily recommend it, and to all Dodie Smith fans I also recommend Valerie Grove's 1995 biography of her.