‘It’s a strange time to be a man’: in The Castle, Jon Ronson investigates the plight of unanchored men

In Jon Ronson's book "The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unravelling Men", the author explores the plight of unanchored men in modern society. In 2024, Ronson reflected on a now-defunct ABC show called Q+A, describing it as a "delightful hour's television with everyone being convivial to one another, no matter their politics," until a question about men arose.

The host, Patricia Karvelas, questioned him on why he thought it's a strange time to be a man, to which Ronson responded that it was a new thought for him. He sensed that there was more to be said on the subject, as many seemed uneasy to broach it.

The issue of modern masculinity became a more prominent topic in 2026, with cultural phenomena like looksmaxxing and men's rights figures like Andrew Tate dominating the headlines. Ronson, known for probing difficult subjects, takes a different approach in this book. He describes his journalism as "the constant quest to understand things I don't understand," and this book focuses on the plight of unanchored men, with a central story following Chris Mark, heir to a Gilded Age steel fortune.

Mark invites women to a literal castle, where he proposes a "princess reality show." However, the women are taken down to Mark's "costume room" to select medieval gowns and tiaras, while the men are given tuxedos for filming. Mark's intention was to have six or eight women living with him at the castle, each becoming sexually involved with one another.

This arrangement, which Mark called "princessing," aimed to create a fairytale childhood for Mark's daughters. The book highlights the monetization of despair, with men struggling to find purpose and becoming content creators, culture war influencers, and amateur sleuths in the attention economy.