Dodie Smith, best known for writing the beloved children's novel
The Hundred and One Dalmatians (1956), began her career as a dramatist; she wrote a series of hit plays in the 1930s. In the 1940s she turned to publishing novels (including the best-selling
I Capture the Castle in 1948) and spent her last years writing several volumes of autobiography. After the war,
DS
sometimes experienced difficulties getting her work published or produced; she fell out of favour with critics who found her work too sentimental, charming, and
cosy, particularly in contrast to the work of
Angry Young Men such as
John Osborne
and
Kingsley Amis
. Her biggest successes from this later period were with younger audiences.
