The Blue Castle
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The Blue Castle is a 1926 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, best known for her novel Anne of Green Gables (1908).
The Blue Castle is the story of Valancy Stirling, a 29 year-old "spinster" who is unloved, friendless and ridiculed by her domineering family. It takes place in the early 1920's in the fictional town of Deerwood, located in the Muskoka region of Ontario, Canada. Valancy is a homely and quiet girl with few accomplishments until she learns she suffers from angina and has only a year to live. She immediately rebels against her rigid upbringing and strict, unloving family, deciding to live her last year as a free-spirited and joyous young woman. The Blue Castle examines the possibility of changing one's destiny by eliminating fear and casting aside the rules and prejudices inflicted by society (in this case, symbolized by Valancy's narrow-minded family). The most colorful and memorable character in this novel, along with Valancy, is Barney Snaith, a handsome free-thinker and rugged individualist who also questions authority in an era when people were expected to do their duty. As Valancy begins thinking for herself, her life changes and becomes more mystical and fulfilling than she ever dreamed possible.
This novel is considered L.M. Montgomery's only "adult" work of fiction. It has grown in popularity since being re-published in 1990.
[edit] External links
- The Blue Castle - online text from Project Gutenberg
- An L.M. Montgomery Resource Page Resource for all things L.M. Montgomery, includes The Blue Castle Encyclopedia and more on Valancy
- Bala's Museum The setting for The Blue Castle
- The Blue Castle: A Musical Love Story a 1997 musical adapted from the book by Hank Stinson
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