Keeping The Castle (edition 2012)

This is a really fun Austen-esque romance! Althea is a likeable, spunky protagonist who knows that she must marry well to save her family from ruin and preserve the family castle for her little brother to inherit. Highly recommended for fans of Jane Austen and period media like Downton Abbey, etc. ( )

In the spirit of Jane Austen, Althea must marry a rich man in order to preserve her family’s position in society. Whom will she choose-Lord Boring or Mr. Fredericks?

I have to admit that I am not entirely sure if this book deserves four stars or five. Maybe it is just four. But I have been having a couple of those days where my mood is just all over the map, and I simply feel worn out, and now I do actually feel better. This little book (and it is little, and it looks pretty) is funny, very much like Jane Austen, and while it does have it's tense, wondering what's going to happen moments, it has a certain degree of freedom in its reality--e.g. a certain character having a child from an unapproved marriage (by her parents), and presents the idea of not marrying and being able to do what one truly wants to--such as following artistic endeavors.





*****Some spoilers*****
There are a lot of Austen-like references--Pride and Prejudice and Emma are the two that pop to mind first. I liked Mr. Fredericks from the start simply because he seemed to be the only one that was looking at the world who wasn't wearing rose-tinted glasses and saw things for what they were, and also because he was kind to Alexander. So did Althea, but she was still caught up in the necessity for marriage, trying to arrange things she thought would help but didn't, and in some cases making things worse--things started to get a little out of control. Much like the castle, with all of its jutting turrets and odd angles, Althea is trying to fit into a world she doesn't quite understand--all the knows is that she needs to marry for money to keep Crooked Castle. But what, really, is the point of keeping such a monstrosity, as eccentric and endearing as it may be? All she and her mother have been doing, their whole lives, it to pour money into this decrepit thing, which, as Mr. Fredericks pointed out, doesn't have a strong enough foundation to even stand on.

Getting into my symbolism mode here, I think Crooked Castle could be used as a metaphor for marriages where the two people don't have much in common. They try to make it work, and it gets edges and goes off in all directions. If they can keep the big storms at bay, maybe the foundation with survive. Maybe the Baron (Boring lol) and Charity will be able to succeed in their marriage as neither of them are particularly deep thinkers. Miss Vincy will work things out. Althea and her Mother will both be happy. I loved the fact that Mr. Fredericks proposes to Althea as Crooked Castle is continuing to crash over the cliff a little bit at a time--a few chairs, other bits of things. As the impossible thing Althea was trying to save is destroyed, a whole new life opens up for her, one far more pleasant than living in a leaky, damp, drafty, cold castle. ( )

Althea is seventeen and the only hope for her entire family. If she doesn’t marry well, her mother and brother stand to lose everything, which isn’t much. The family lives in a crumbling castle near some cliffs with Althea’s two (sort of) evil stepsisters. While Althea is very beautiful, it’s more complicated than that: there are very few wealthy suitors to choose from, and even fewer handsome ones. Then Lord Boring arrives and sets all the eligible women in town into a flurry of flirting. To complicate things, Lord Boring’s friend and business manager Mr. Fredericks seems to tag along to all the events and outings, and he tends to cause trouble wherever he goes.

A delight of a book, Kindl’s Regency-set romance is a witty, frothy good time. Kindl has crafted a strong, smart heroine in Althea, who wants to have adventures but fully realizes she will have to marry for money. She loves her family but recognizes that they’re mostly useless, and as a result, she has to be the strong one. Althea’s smart, funny (really, really funny) narration propels this sweet little book. Although it’s largely predictable, it’s also incredibly fun.

There’s a lot of silliness to be found within the pages of Kindl’s breezy novel. The characters are charming and funny, and Kindl’s gentle mocking of the Regency-era tropes adds a layer of entertainment to the already compelling story. Althea’s attempts to attract a suitor are engaging and very funny. Readers will be as enamored with her as her eventual marriage prospect is.

Funny, witty, and satisfying. This is a great, sweet historical romantic comedy. Teens looking for clean, clever reads will gobble this one up. Recommended especially for fans of Jane Austen.

Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl. Viking Children’s Books: 2012. Library copy. Read for 2012 Cybils Round 1 Panel. ( )

Often books of a type do seem to pop up one after the other. Sometimes this is a nice thing–I had a month spell of finding Richard III in almost every book I picked up. Other times, it can lead to a run of bothersome books, or frustrated reading.

These books aren’t quite either of those things. Actually, it’s the fact that I’m pretty ambivalent about all three which lead me to group them.

For instance, Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl was recommended to me by my friend B. as a very Maureen-y book. And YES, and no. It was so satisfying to finally read an Austenesque book that, purely on the level of language, sounded like Austen*. So often I’ve tried to read a Regency book and liked the story okay but been entirely put off by the wrongness of the language. I’m quite aware that this is a personal issue, but I think my poetry-trained ear just can’t handle it.

On the other hand, Althea, the narrator and main character, is not really like Elizabeth Bennet or Anne Elliott (my favorite Austen girls). Rather, she’s like Emma, but with less power. Matchmaking and scheming for herself and her stepsisters, she regards love as a folly and a good income as the only qualification for a husband. And, to be very slightly spoilerish, she never seems to change. Though events might seem to prove me wrong, I couldn’t buy into them because there was so little build-up. It seemed that I was supposed to take this revolutionary change of heart on trust.

The other book I’ve heard Keeping the Castle compared to is I Capture the Castle, a definite personal favorite. I can see it on a superficial level, but KtC lacks the immediacy of Cassandra’s worries, her loves and sorrows.

* Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell also nails the language, but what Susanna Clarke is doing there is not really Austenesque.

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