I'm the King of the Castle

Discus the relevance of the novel’s title

Thinking of the phrase ‘I’m the king of the castle’ brings back memories of childish games and friendly dominance. As a child you have vanquished your foe and gained superiority over the rest of your kingdom. The plight for this feeling of control is the main theme of Susan Hill’s ‘I’m the king of the castle,’ and is the fuel which drives this tragic tale of two isolated children’s exploration into the nature of cruelty and the power of evil.

The book is set in the 1960’s in the town of Derne, Dorset, but the main focus lies in ‘Warings’, an estate where Edmund Hooper and his father live. Warings is an isolated country house with great grounds surrounding it, including a vast wood known as ‘Hang Wood’. The different settings show off the two main characters’ strengths and weaknesses, and definitely are a huge part of the quest for superiority, with Edmund having the immediate home advantage.

Edmund Hooper and Charles Kingshaw are eleven-year-old boys. Charles’ mother Helena has been hired at the Warings estate as an informal housekeeper, but deep down it seems that she is just there to give Joseph Hooper his

Charles’ arrival was vastly unwelcome for Edmund from the start, as Edmund made obvious by dropping him a note when he first arrives, reading ‘I DIDN’T WANT YOU TO COME HERE.’ This short sentence makes it perfectly clear that the boys wouldn’t be friends immediately, and are most likely to be enemies. This concept of invading someone’s home and trying to take it over has connotations with medieval times of castles and knights. Edmund feels threatened by the new arrivals; ‘It’s my house’, he thinks, ‘it is private, I got here first. Nobody should come here.’ Edmund liked his way of life before, Warings was the castle, and he was king, now there are intruders which he just can’t accept.

Edmund appears to be a natural born leader; one of his hobbies is drawing up battle plans. When he’s on his home ground, ‘Everything is mine, and nothing is yours,’ he believes, in a rather spoilt ‘Kingly’ manner. Edmund knows his castle ‘back-to-front,’ he sees all and knows all, making Kingshaw desperate. How could he compete with that?

The title of Hill’s novel reflects the ultimate aim of the two main characters. They are so consumed by the task of achieving and retaining their kingdom that they are blind to anything else. Having reached his peak Kingshaw is forced back into complete inferiority. After all he’s been through, this is too much for him to bear. Charles just can’t accept his given role. He has reached his low, but still sees things getting worse; any ray of hope has disappeared. Susan Hill leaves Charles Kingshaw wit

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