"The Blue Castle" by L.M. Montgomery (re-read)

My L.M. Montgomery Readathon Facebook group spent the summer & early fall months immersed in 1920s era-Muskoka -- the "cottage country" region of Ontario -- as described in one of my very favourite books of all time,  Montgomery's 1926 "adult" novel, "The Blue Castle."  

(I currently own three versions of the book -- including my original 1970s Canadian Children's Classic edition, purchased in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1973, when I was 12 years old, for a whopping $2.99!  :)  The gorgeous cover shown here is the recent Tundra Books edition, which I couldn't resist adding to my collection recently!)  

I've read and re-read this book many times over the past 50 (!) years since I first discovered it. Our group first read it together back in fall 2020, and this summer, our admin (a Montgomery scholar) re-ran all the posts from that time (chapter readings by members on YouTube, discussion questions and context posts) while taking a well-deserved break from creating and organizing new content. (She also got married! :)  ) 

If you've never read "The Blue Castle," you are in for a treat. :)  This is the only book Montgomery wrote that's set completely outside of her home province of Prince Edward Island. It was inspired by a 1922 vacation she & her family took in the area.  

Our heroine, Valancy Stirling, age 29, is an "old maid" who leads a dreary life with her oppressive mother and whiny cousin in the small, staid town of Deerfield. The two things that make Valancy's drab existence bearable are the books by nature writer John Foster that she borrows from the local library, and her dream life in her "Blue Castle" in Spain (complete with a Prince Charming, of course).  

Then she receives a shocking letter that changes her life.  With nothing left to lose, Valancy decides she will henceforth live her life exactly as she pleases, scandalizing her family in the process. And then she meets the mysterious, reclusive rogue Barney Snaith... and finds her real-life Blue Castle.

Some modern readers might find this novel a little contrived and fairy tale-ish in some respects -- but it WAS written almost 100 years ago, after all!  In many respects, Valancy is a heroine ahead of her time, who dares to defy her family as well as social conventions to live life on her own terms. There's a scene at a family dinner party that cracks me up every single time I read it. 

(Spoiler/ALI alert:  there's a secondary character who is the single, unmarried mother of a dead baby -- who winds up dying herself. Despite this harsh "punishment" for her sin of having a child out of wedlock, Montgomery -- herself the mother of a stillborn son -- presents her story with great sympathy & sensitivity.) 

Once again, 5 stars on Goodreads (again)(4.5 stars, rounded up).  :)  (Previous reviews here, here and, from an earlier book-related post, here.) 

Our next Montgomery book is still TBA...  whatever and whenever it is, you are welcome to join us! 

This was Book #40 read to date in 2023 (and Book #4 finished in October), bringing me to 89% of my 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 3 books ahead of schedule. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2023 tagged as "2023 books."