The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery

L.M. Montgomery, best known for Anne of Green Gables, wrote this uplifting story of a woman who turns her back on polite society in order to find her true self.

Valancy Stirling is twenty-nine years old and already considered an old maid by her patronising family. She's teased and infantalised. Unremarkable in the looks department, no one holds out much hope for her. Life is accordingly miserable, for the most part because she's forever trying to fit in and keep everyone around her happy, fulfilling their expectations, rather than her own. When Valancy gets a serious medical diagnosis, she decides she's had enough of living for other people. In an about face that shocks her family she starts giving candid opinions, takes up a housekeeping job with Roaring Abe, the town drunk, and elopes with Barney Snaith, a man with a reputation as a possible jail bird. 

Everyone is horrified by Valancy's behaviour, and they quickly move to disown her. The only consolation is that she's gone mad. But the truth is, Valancy has never been happier. In the end, through several twists and turns in the plot, the family makes peace with Valancy's decision to marry Barney Snaith, but for quite selfish reasons. 

The Blue Castle (1926) was published as a novel for adults, but it hardly veers off L.M. Montgomery's formula for children's fiction. Like a lot of the Anne series, the novel hovers somewhere between the two genres. It's an easy-to-read and emotionally satisfying story of liberation from society's shackles. Or more to the point, the shackles we put on ourselves. Montgomery does an excellent job of creating a cast of insipid and self-satisfied family members who hold Valancy back, and the reader will find themselves barracking for the story's heroine. The scenes where Valancy lives with Barney Snaith on his idyllic island display Montgomery's skill for inspiring nature writing. One tastes her freedom in living wild, enjoying life's simple pleasures. 

A highly entertaining story with a serious message about personal liberation. 

The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery. Published by Union Square & Co. $19.99

JAN24