Anne with an ‘e’ played a huge role in my childhood. I can’t remember when my mom first bought me Anne of Green Gables, but the rest of the series followed soon after. The first time I saw the movie, I was enthralled. The casting was perfect, and I was in love with Gilbert. The Emily trilogy was an exciting find as well, although not quite as impressionable. I always assumed I’d read everything by L.M. Montgomery, but then I found a review for The Blue Castle (1926) on Cannonball. L.M. Montgomery wrote a romantic novel for adults? How could I not know about this? So, I picked it up. Although it wasn’t quite as inspiring as Anne was to my childhood, I was not disappointed.
Valency is 29 years old and she’s already given up. She’s an old maid, controlled and belittled by her horrible family. She hates her home, her room, and her imposed life. Any misstep and her mother attacks her with vile, passive aggressive threats. But when she goes to a doctor for chest pain and discovers she has a bad heart and will die shortly, her perspective and priorities change. Valency begins to stand up for herself, separating herself from her family, and not concerning herself with pious appearances. She moves in with a young childhood friend who needs help and meets the town’s scoundrel, Barney Snaith. Rumor has it that he is some kind of criminal, but the new Valency doesn’t care.
If you haven’t read The Blue Castle yet, I recommend that you stop reading this review and go find the book. I think the less you know of the plot the better. Spoilers follow, the more spoilers the farther you read. Anyway, when Valency’s friend dies, she has no place to go besides her hated home. Instead, she proposes marriage to Barney Snaith, explaining that she’s desperate for independence and fated to die anyway. Barney agrees and Valency moves to Barney’s isolated cottage on the lake–the aforementioned blue castle. Valency loves everything about her new life and she and Barney grow closer, despite the numerous secrets he continues to keep from her. As is probably to be expected, everything works out in the end. ***SPOILERS FOR REAL NOW*** I thought it was obvious that Barney was Valency’s favorite author, and I figured we wouldn’t go through all of that just to have Valency die in the end. However, I was surprised that Barney was also the son of the rich and famous doctor. That almost took it a little too far. Valency had already found a happy life for herself, she didn’t need extreme riches as well.
I really enjoyed this book and I’m so glad I heard about it. L.M. Montgomery did an amazing job with Valency’s horrible family, and it was so refreshing to see Valency finally standing up for herself. The love story between Barney and Valency was sweet and sincere. My only problem was that I had to read this book as something of a fairy tale. In real life, if your partner is looked on with suspicion by everyone you know and he keeps huge parts of his life a secret from you, those are some serious red flags. Finally, I feel a little dirty bringing the subject of sex into such a pure book, but once they got married, Valency and Barney were having sex, right? They weren’t just living together? Valency said something about loving having his arms around her. But wasn’t she worried about getting pregnant and either hastening her demise or leaving a helpless baby with Barney–which was not part of the bargain? I’m curious because it was a distracting concern for me.
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Okay, that’s it. The fates have aligned. Everyone keeps telling me to read this, and here’s yet another great review. To the library hold list I go!
I didn’t hear about this book until about a year ago and I am CANADIAN! Isn’t it lovely? It was the best book I read this year, as I have just informed MsWas.
Valency and Barney were absolutely getting it on and enjoying it.
Without question, they were enjoying the sex.
This book is my go-to when I need a quick, relaxing pick-me-up. So glad you enjoyed it. And that’s a good question about the birth-control aspect? Maybe she was drinking Queen Anne’s Lace tea or something…? This is making me curious now.
So glad The Blue Castle has another convert. I love this book! I’m sure they were having sex, but it is perfectly possible for people to have unprotected sex for years without ever concieving, even in historical novels. To overshare and make it all about me for a bit (:P) I for one am proof that nearly six years of said practice need not result in so much as a hint of pregnancy (which is why the husband and I are in the process of having science help us). It takes longer for some than for others.
It’s why I always find it so frustrating when romance heroines frequently so easily get knocked up after one sexual encounter, be it in a historical or a contemporary. Even in contemporaries, there are faulty condoms, unreliable birth control pills due to stomach flu – all manner of things that seem to make it super easy for women to get pregnant. Sometimes the opposite is also true.
I am a huge fan of oversharing, and I truly hope that it works out for you. I also get frustrated by virgin sex and immediate pregnancy. Sure it can happen, but it seems it’s usually just a convenient plot device to keep the couple together. In this book, I wasn’t so concerned that Valency didn’t get pregnant, but that she might be worried about it. Here I’m projecting my own fears. I’m terrified of getting pregnant. When I was younger, I would have anxiety dreams of being pregnant. Also, SPOILER Valency felt terrible when she thought she’d saddled Barney with herself when she discovered she wasn’t going to die. I assumed she’d feel the same way about leaving him with a baby. L.M. Montgomery would not be touching this subject in 1926, but I’m curious if Valency worried and/or did anything about it.
True, that would certainly be a natural thing for her to feel. I totally see why you feel that the “fairy tale” aspect of the story got a bit much, but it was one of the things that made me even more fond of the story. Of course he’s her favourite author. Oh, and super rich of course. Why ever would he not be?
You’re totally right about the stranger danger signs if this were real life, though. Luckily, in escapist literature, stuff like that is all fine. :)
Oh, I don’t know, I think L.M. Montgomery was pretty liberal with the whole “premarital sex/out of wedlock” and “sometime parents die and leave behind small children” thing. If I recall correctly The Blue Castle is her only novel where a significant character has child out of wedlock, but it’s something that pops up pretty frequently in her short stories. And orphaned children, well…
Yessss, another convert. This book is such a gem.
Yea, I’m so glad so many people like this book!
I too only discovered this book this year, back in the summer, and I just re-read it while I enjoy the Christmas hols. I’m delighted to see that there are so many other fans out there. It’s just a lovely lovely story, and Valancy is an inspiring heroine for her time. Plus who wouldn’t want a Barney Snaith?! I think a few hints here and there seems to certainly suggest that they were sleeping together and not just alongside each other! That moment when he has been away for two days, and Valancy is feeling lonely and rushes out to meet him upon his return…I feel sure they had a nice reunion!