Keeping the Castle

Starred review from April 23, 2012
In her first book in 10 years, Kindl (Lost in the Labyrinth) creates a sharp-witted comedy of manners set in 19th-century England that mirrors the narrative voice of Jane Austen. Seventeen-year-old Althea Crawley’s mission is to secure a husband rich enough to repair the family’s crumbling castle, since her wealthier live-in stepsisters aren’t much help. (They “did feel some obligation to contribute towards their upkeep, but the sum was ever in dispute, and tardy
in payment.”) Althea’s best prospect for a suitable fiancé is newcomer Lord Boring, but much to her annoyance, at social outings and parties she finds herself paired with his brash and outspoken companion, Mr. Fredericks. The banter between Althea and Mr. Fredericks will clue in readers that they are, in fact, a perfect match, something it takes Althea a while longer to recognize. Althea’s tongue-in-cheek commentary regarding the selection of a suitor and her razorlike quips are abundantly entertaining, but it is the heroine’s remarkable ingenuity and compassion for loved ones—including her widowed mother, younger brother, and an artist friend, Miss Vincy—that make her so endearing. Ages 12–up.

April 15, 2012
A romp of a Regency romance told through the discerning voice of a witty teenage beauty whose family needs to her to marry for money. Lovely Althea Crawley, 17, lives with her kind but clueless twice-widowed mother in Crooked Castle, a drafty white elephant perched precariously on the Yorkshire coast. Althea's 4-year-old brother, who's heir to the castle, and her self-centered older stepsisters, Prudence and Charity, round out the household. With few funds to make ends meet, Althea, unlike so many fictional heroines who go off on unlikely adventures, accepts that she must marry for money. Prospects look up with the arrival in to the neighborhood of handsome young Lord Boring. When Althea launches her campaign, described in military terms, to secure his affections, not all goes as planned. As she pursues him, her occasional outspokenness raises a few eyebrows but also attracts admiration from an unsuspected quarter. Kindl respects the conventions of the genre while also gently mocking it. Althea observes, for example, that their ancient butler, Greengages, correctly pronounces the name of neighbor Doctor Haxhamptonshire as "Doctor Hamster." Readers will enjoy Althea's entertaining forays into the marriage market, secure in the belief that all will end well. While the happy ending comes as no surprise, the path to it is funny as well as satisfying, with many nods to Jane Austen along the way. (Fiction. 13 & up)

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Starred review from June 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-This droll tale set in 19th-century England will earn smiles of recognition from those familiar with Pride and Prejudice. Althea Crawley's only hope of saving her family and their castlelike home from their state of genteel poverty is to ensnare a wealthy husband using the two sole tools at her disposal: her youth and her beauty. The 17-year-old soon sets her sights on dashing Lord Boring, but obstacles arise, including her scheming stepsisters and Boring's seemingly boorish cousin, Mr. Fredericks. Though the bulk of the action revolves around socializing-visits, picnics, riding parties-these events are infused with enough drama and social maneuvering to keep the plot moving smoothly. Witty dialogue, particularly the barbed exchanges between Althea and Mr. Fredericks, recalls Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy's sharp banter but will also be accessible to readers who have not yet encountered Austen. Kindl uses sly humor to take aim at societal customs and standards. For example, Althea questions a rich suitor about why her appreciation of his wealth is mercenary while his enjoyment of her physical beauty is admirable. Althea is a worthy heroine with sharp-eyed views on matrimony that set her apart from more typical dewy-eyed protagonists. The dilapidated castle setting, the Crawleys' desperate circumstances, Althea's amusingly wicked stepsisters, and a touch of romance all bring this archly humorous story to vivid life. A treat for both fans of Austen and newcomers alike.-Mahnaz Dar, formerly at Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2012
Grades 7-11 *Starred Review* Seventeen-year-old Althea Crawley is facing a plight familiar to characters in Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle (1949), Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and PBS' Downton Abbey: Perhaps one day women might be able to choose their husbands with no thought of money and position, but not in this day and age in Lesser Hoo, Yorkshire, England. Althea is on a quest to marry rich so that she may secure the family's only inheritance, a dilapidated castle on the edge of the North Sea. She also bears the burden of supporting her widowed mother, four-year-old brother, and two sour, wealthy stepsisters, who refuse to contribute financially to the household. Marriage prospects in tiny Lesser Hoo are slim, to say the least, until dashing and wealthy Lord Boring arrives on the scene. Matters are further complicated by a revolving cast of potential suitors, including Lord Boring's cousin, Mr. Fredericks, who is the Mr. Darcy to Althea's Elizabeth Bennet. As with any respectable story set in England in the nineteenth or early twentieth century, the ending is jam-packed with revelations, only some of which are surprising. In her first novel in a decade, Kindl (Goose Chase, 2001) writes with sharp, effervescent, period-specific language that is so spot-on readers may find themselves adopting a British accent. This witty take on classic Regency romances is frothy fun for YA Anglophiles.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
Althea's impoverished family's fate rests on her marriage, but there are formidable obstacles. The arrival of handsome Lord Boring and a party of friends from London sets the neighborhood aflutter. As mishaps pile up, Althea blithely meddles in others' romantic affairs while remaining endearingly obtuse about her own. Kindl effortlessly takes on the classic Regency romance in this witty novel.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2012
Althea Crawley is acutely aware that the fate of her impoverished family rests on her ability to parlay her remarkable beauty into a brilliant marriage. Her great-grandfather's quixotic desire to build a rambling pseudo-castle on the inhospitable Yorkshire coast has drained the family resources and left Althea, her widowed mother, and her young brother in perilous straits. Althea is determined to do her duty, but the dearth of eligible bachelors in Lesser Hoo and her lack of a dowry are formidable obstacles to success. So is her unfortunate habit of blurting out exactly what she's thinking to her suitors, with disastrous results. ("When would I learn to speak with a tactful tongue? There went another one.") The arrival of handsome Lord Boring at his country estate with a party of friends from London sets the neighborhood aflutter; suddenly picnics, balls, and social calls proliferate. Will any of the potential husbands measure up? What deep secret is the reticent Miss Vincy hiding? And why is the caustic Mr. Fredericks always underfoot? As misunderstandings and mishaps pile up, Althea blithely meddles in the romantic affairs of everyone around her, all the while remaining endearingly obtuse about the state of her own heart. Kindl effortlessly takes on the classic Regency romance in this witty and deftly plotted novel. Careful readers will spot affectionate nods to several of Jane Austen's works -- no doubt the clever, outspoken Althea and Elizabeth Bennett would have been fast friends. terri schmitz

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)