The Blue Castle

by L. M. Montgomery

I enjoyed ANNE OF GREEN GABLES but it is THE BLUE CASTLE by L. M. Montgomery I find myself thinking about. I never realized I was a sucker for romances but THE BLUE CASTLE is one of my all-time favorite feel good books. It was written back in 1926, which I didn't realize because it is a timeless story. A woman is diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to take charge of her life. She meets a man and convinces said man to marry her because hey, she has never been married and doesn't want to go back to her controlling family. Only things aren't exactly as they seem to be.

The main character, Valancy, is an old maid and her family lets her know exactly what they think of her being twenty-nine and unmarried. When she learned that she isn't expected to live out the year she decides to take back her life. She lets her family know exactly what she thinks of them. There are some really funny instances and her family starts to think that she has gone crazy. She moves out of her family home to take a job as a housekeeper for one of her childhood friends. This friend was pregnant out of wedlock and her father is the town drunk. At this point Valancy is introduced to the town ruffian, Barney. You can probably guess who Valancy falls for and because I say that this is one of my feel good books you can probably guess how it turns out in the end.

It isn't just the happy ending that makes me all gooey inside but the characters. L. M. Montgomery has fleshed out characters that are individual. I grew attached to a lot of the characters in such a short period of time and I could picture them in my minds eyes. I am so glad I read THE BLUE CASTLE and it is one that I reread over the years. (As a side note it reminds me a lot of MOONRAKER'S BRIDE.)