Blue Castle

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Valancy is, at twenty-nine, the old maid of the Stirling clan. Her entire life has been spent with her nagging mother, aunt, and gossipy extended family: Victorian and middle class, they actively discourage happiness and treat Valancy like a child, constantly comparing her with her beautiful cousin, Olive, putting her down, and calling her by the baby name "Doss." Her only respites come from daydreaming of her "Blue Castle," and reading the nature books of John Foster. but Cissy refused, knowing that he no longer loved her. A few nights after telling her story to Valancy, Cissy dies (Chapter 22). Cissy My fav part is the conversation between Barney and Valancy, which encapsulates the essence of the novel (with teary and smiling eyes 😊)-

After Cissy passes away, Valancy asks Barney to marry her, while confessing that she is about to die soon! Agreeing on the proposal, he takes her to live on his island in the woods, which ofcourse Valancy calls as “The Blue Castle”. Clayton - a man engaged to Jennie Lloyd, who built a house for her and furnished it in readiness for their marriage (Chapter Not lovelier. But a different kind of loveliness. There are so many kinds of loveliness. Valancy, before this year you've spent all your life in ugliness. You know nothing of the beauty of the world. We'll climb mountains--hunt for 192 treasures in the bazaars of Samarcand--search out the magic of east and west--run hand in hand to the rim of the world. I want to show you it all--see it again through your eyes. Girl, there are a million things I want to show you--do with you--say to you. It will take a lifetime. And we must see about that picture by Tierney, after all." Warning- This novel is endearing and filled with ardour to a dangerous level, that one can risk into crooning and canoodling with the novel throughout! and showered on her everything she didn't want. He had killed her—quite legally. She had been smothered and starved" (Chapter 10;This novel is considered one of L.M. Montgomery's few adult works of fiction, along with A Tangled Web, and is the only book she wrote that is entirely set outside of Prince Edward Island. It has grown in popularity since being republished in 1990. The book was adapted for the stage twice; in 1982 it was made into a successful Polish musical, and ten years later Canadian playwright Hank Stinson authored another version, The Blue Castle: A Musical Love Story. [1] What goes next is a sweet love and empowerment story, at least as much empowerment as women were expected to achieve in Canada in the 1920s when it was written. If you think Fanny Price is lonely, downtrodden and has a hard time of it, away from her Family, among her relatives in Mansfield Park, you ain't seen nothin'. Clan Stirling can give a run for their money to all them Bertrams and Mrs Norris any time and teach a thing or two about how to make someone feel like a nonentity.

and roses." She had a B.A. from McGill and was a "thoroughbred" from "One of the best families." Ethel got married two years after her break-up with Barney, on Valancy's birthday, her mother tells her to "'Sit up straight, Doss,'" without any kind wishes (Chapter 3).

L. M. MONTGOMERY

Ah, now you have it," said Barney. "That's all the freedom we can hope for—the freedom to choose our prison. Rebellion flamed up in her soul as the dark hours passed by – not because she had no future but because she had no past.” The last of the book is a true fairy tale. Valancy lives a romantic life on an island in a nearby lake, enjoying nature like the naturalist author of her favorite books. There seem to be no annoying insects or mice invading the kitchen--only the beauties of nature.

The heroine, Valancy Stirling (my stars, what a name), is unmarried and twenty-something at a time when being unmarried twenty-something means your life is a total waste. Her family are repressive and awful beyond belief. Then she receives the news that she has a fatal heart condition and will die within a year.

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iron-grey hair" and "Rich, fashionable beaded dress." She had electrolysis to remove her moles (Chapter 10; 54). "Valancy had

Trent, Dr. - an elderly, absent-minded doctor who specializes in heart disease. He is over seventy years oldOddly enough, this death sentence frees Valancy from her miserable existence. With nothing to lose, she starts sassing her ice-cold mother and relatives, begins wearing "unsuitable" clothing, moves out of the family home, and generally starts doing what she wants to without a thought for propriety. It's lovely to see her bloom and gain confidence, and begin to seek out happiness and love on her own terms. And eventually (I won't spoil the story by going into the hows and whys) she finds a home in a cottage by the lake that reminds her of her beloved Blue Castle. given months to live. Two years later, Cissy was still alive, but no one went to see her (Chapter 14). When Valancy learns that the Gay family doesn't have a housekeeper, she leaves home and moves into their household to care for Cissy. Near the end of her life, Cissy confides in Valancy that the Valancy was the mistress of the Blue Castle in Spain; a big, imposing, majestic structure of elegance and grandness, resplendent in blue. "Everything wonderful and beautiful was in that castle." She wishes to experience being with the man of her dreams and be in her dream house, which she refers to as “The Blue Castle”. Taking the reins of her life in her hands, she decides to live, and be a priority and not an option any more. She finally takes control!! Chamber. Barney is rumored to be a "defaulting cashier-counterfeiting-infidel-murderer-in-hiding" and to have fathered Cissy