7 h 57 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 57 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 195 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 195 pagesAbout this book
What if the news you fear most gives you the courage to live as you please?
Valancy Stirling is twenty-nine, and her family has already decided who she is: dull, obedient, and destined to stay that way. In the Ontario town of Deerwood, she lives under her mother's strict eye and keeps her hopes secret. Then a doctor's letter tells her she has little time left, and obedience begins to lose its hold.
In The Blue Castle, L. M. Montgomery follows a woman who dares to disappoint everyone around her. Valancy leaves home to care for Cissy Gay, a dying woman the town shuns. Beyond her family's rules lie the woods and lakes of Muskoka—and Barney Snaith, the island-dwelling stranger whose name sets Deerwood whispering. Freedom means risking the town's judgment.
What you’ll discover
- A quiet woman's rebellion Watch Valancy trade fearful obedience for the unsettling pleasure of speaking her own mind.
- Romance beyond the rumors Meet Barney Snaith, whose kindness and humor stand apart from Deerwood's dark suspicions.
- Family dinners with teeth Enjoy sharp comedy as familiar rituals reveal the Stirling family's pride and narrow rules.
- Room to breathe Step into Muskoka's lakes and woods, far from the stuffy rooms that confine Valancy.
- The courage to want more Follow a grown woman's awakening as she begins to take her own desires seriously.
Who will love it
For readers who love warm, witty stories about a person finding her nerve, romance with real humor, and the beauty of lakes and woods.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A woman who has never lived
- A letter gives her one year
- She tells the family the truth
- She leaves home to nurse Cissy Gay
- The man the town whispers about
- She proposes and starts a new life
- Courage, freedom and the price of obedience
- Small-town comedy and sharp portraits
- How the story is told and what the castle means
Who’s who
- Valancy StirlingA shy woman of twenty-nine who has obeyed her family all her life and decides, with little time left, to start living.
- Barney SnaithA quiet man living alone on an island in Lake Mistawis, about whom Deerwood spreads dark rumors, though he is kind and humorous.
- Mrs. Frederick StirlingValancy's strict, proud mother, who controls her daughter's days and cares deeply about what the family and neighbors think.
- Cousin SticklesA nervous relative who shares the Stirling house, anxious about every change and loyal to the family's rules.
- Cissy GayA gentle, dying young woman shunned by Deerwood, who asks her old schoolmate Valancy to care for her.
- Roaring AbelCissy's loud, hard-drinking father, who lives in a rough house and meets Valancy's calm with grudging respect.
- Dr. TrentThe doctor whose letter sets Valancy's change in motion by giving her news about her health.
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- Large-print eBook
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- Audiobook
- 7 h 57 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 195 pages: USD 8.95 when you start free, USD 15.95 on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 195 pages: USD 16.95 when you start free, USD 22.95 on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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The Blue Castle: a novel
by L. M. Montgomery · 1926
A doctor's letter gives Valancy Stirling a reason to defy her family and claim a life of freedom and love.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A woman who has never lived
Valancy Stirling is twenty-nine, and in Deerwood that makes her an old maid. She lives with her mother, Mrs. Frederick Stirling, and her mother's cousin, Cousin Stickles. Both women watch her every move. Valancy has never earned money, never gone anywhere alone and never been courted. She sleeps in a small room and wears the dull clothes her mother picks out.
The Stirlings are a clan, and the clan has opinions about everything. There are uncles and aunts who meet at one another's houses to judge the family and the neighbors. Valancy's mother is the strictest of them. She decides what Valancy may read, who she may visit and what she should think. When Valancy disagrees, even slightly, she is made to feel foolish or ungrateful.
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What is The Blue Castle about?
It follows Valancy Stirling, a timid woman of twenty-nine who lives under her family's thumb. After receiving news about her health, she decides to live freely, speak honestly and chase happiness, which changes her life and the life of her town.
Who is Barney Snaith in The Blue Castle?
Barney Snaith is a quiet man who lives alone on an island in Lake Mistawis. The people of Deerwood gossip about his past, but Valancy comes to know him as kind, funny and much more complex than the rumors suggest.
What does the Blue Castle mean in the book?
The Blue Castle is Valancy's private daydream, a beautiful castle in Spain where she is free and loved. It stands for her longing for a richer life and the hope that such happiness could exist in the real world.
The author
L. M. Montgomery
1874–1942 · Canadian novelist
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942) was a Canadian writer born on Prince Edward Island. She later lived in Ontario, where she died in Toronto. She wrote novels, short stories and poems. Her novels include Anne of Green Gables (1908), Anne of Avonlea (1909) and The Blue Castle (1926).
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