Sell Back Your Copy
For a $1.87 Gift Card
Trade in
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
The Blue Castle (Voyageur Classics)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Blue Castle (Voyageur Classics) [Paperback]

Lucy Maud Montgomery (Author), Collett Tracey (Introduction)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews) |

Available from these sellers.


Textbook Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for students on millions of items. Learn more

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover $29.99   -- --
Paperback $12.95   -- --
Paperback, January 1, 2007 --   -- --
Mass Market Paperback --   -- --
Sell Back Your Copy for $1.87
Whether you bought it on Amazon or somewhere else, you can sell it back through our Book Trade-In Program at the current price of $1.87.
Used Price$12.46
Trade-in Price$1.87
Price after
Trade-in$10.59

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1550026666 | ISBN-13: 978-1550026665

Valancy lives a drab life with her overbearing mother and prying aunt. Then a shocking diagnosis from Dr. Trent prompts her to make a fresh start. For the first time, she does and says exactly what she feels. As she expands her limited horizons, Valancy undergoes a transformation, discovering a new world of love and happiness. One of Lucy Maud Montgomery's only novels intended for an adult audience, The Blue Castle is filled with humour and romance.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Editorial Reviews

Review

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. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From the Publisher

"At twenty-nine Valancy had never been in love, and it seemed romance had passed her by. Living with her overbearing mother and meddlesome aunt, she found her only consolations in the "forbidden" books of John Foster and her daydreams of the Blue Castle. Then a letter arrived from Dr. Trent, and Valancy decided to throw caution to the winds. For the first time in her life Valancy did and said exactly what she wanted. Soon she discovered --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Dundurn Press (January 1, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1550026666
  • ISBN-13: 978-1550026665
  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's L.M. Montgomery Page
L.M. Montgomery
Lucy Maude Montgomery (1874-1942) was born on Prince Edward Island, Canada, the setting for Anne of Green Gables. She left to attend college, but returned to Prince Edward Island to teach. In 1911, she married the Reverend Ewan MacDonald. Anne of Green Gables, the first in a series of "Anne" books by Montgomery, was published in 1908 to immediate success and continues to be a perennial favorite.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 52 people found the following review helpful
so good you'll wear it out! December 19, 1999
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Anyone who thinks L.M. Montgomery is just a children's author should read this book. Although it's appropriate for younger ages and its reading level may not be very demanding, I think adults would appreciate the wit and insights in this novel more than younger readers might. I discovered The Blue Castle at 25, at a time when I wasn't all that interested in adolescent literature. Reading it felt like discovering a long-lost friend. Montgomery's keen sense of human nature shapes characters so real that I'd swear I've met them. I've read this book so many times that I've worn out two copies of it. This is my favorite book by this author and one of my all-time favorites, period. As much as I like Anne of Green Gables, it pales in comparison to The Blue Castle. The story is so much better than the synopsis sounds, but it's hard to say much about the plot without giving away the best of it. This is also the only book Montgomery wrote which is *not* set in Prince Edward Island.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
56 of 58 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
L.M. Montgomery's works interested me at an early age. I first saw the Anne of Green Gables movies and years later read "Anne of Avonlea". I loved the atmosphere and the characters and wanted to know more of Anne. After reading the series, I knew I had to read more by this author. "The Blue Castle" caught my eye one day just because of the name. I read it right away and as soon as I was done I HAD to read it over again! I was completely enchanted, as I am DELIGHTED to see that others are too.

Valancy's mother and aunt really got on my nerves and the entrance of Barney Snaith just driving by intrigued me to no end. Valancy in one of those enlighted spirits who is weighted down by her stodgy, judgemental relatives. She feels she is just doomed to waste away into old-maidenhood or maybe fall over dead. She has no hope of being married and considers herself plain with a "too-small nose". She dares not dress or do her hair as she wishes and can't even speak out of turn when twitted even though she is 29 years old! She hates the house, she hates her room, she hates her life, she hates the strict schedule she forced into as if she is still a child. She even is still called "Doss", her hated childhood nickname. A trip to an "unapproved" doctor turns all this around and she rebels against her family's oppression. After finding that a childhood schoolmate is dying, Valancy goes to nurse her where she becomes friends with the aforementioned Barney. Barney drives a beat-up rattle trap car "Lady Jane Grey" and mostly keeps to himself on his own little island, leading Valancy's nasty family to refer to him as "jailbird", criminal, drunk, etcetera. Valancy feels just the opposite. She buys a bright, stylish dress, takes trips "about the town" with Barney and is rescued by him from the rowdy Chidley Corners dance. Not wanting to go home after her friend dies and not wanting herself to die as an old maid, Valancy makes another wild decision. This decision will lead to a life better than her imaginings and the ending will surprise you completely! You don't see it coming so DO NOT spoil the surprise by reading ahead!!! It is delightful, heartwarming and creates a splitting smile across your face when the entire plot is revealed. I CANNOT reccommend this highly enough!!! It is TOPS on my list of single books.

This is a book that teaches you to live for yourself and to try whatever you feel you are called to do. Be yourself, live your life to the fullest and don't let anyone tell you who to be or how to act! It is for a bit older audience though, late teens and up. It's a book you will read over and over again and NEVER be tired of! The Blue Castle is just proof of why L.M. Montgomery's books have been popular and celebrated for so long. They never go out of date or style, the stories are a timeless kind! You'll find, to use an "Anne" term, that you are "kindred spirits" with Montgomery and all her characters!

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Love is for any age May 17, 2002
By Kate
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I have read this book many, many times. In fact, I have three paperback copies as well as a hard cover that my beloved husband searched and searched for. This book spoke to both myself and my husband. I read it for the first time when I was just a homely kid. I 'made' my husband read it and he fell for the poetry and beauty of the novel just as I had. We called each other Barney and Valancy after the characters and we called our home 'Our Blue Castle' because of how the novel affected us. My beloved husband died on April 28, 2002 of cancer. In his hands, in his casket, he carries a copy of The Blue Castle in honour of our love for each other and the love that L.M. Montgomery expresses without becoming 'harlequinesque' or vulgar. I am 38 and I plan to read it many, many more times before I give a copy to my 11 year old daughter! Love, true love, is not common but can happen at any age.
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
I've reread this book so many times!
"Fear is the only original sin. Almost all of the evil in the world has its origin in the fact that someone was afraid of something. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kat (No Page Left Behind)
An old, dear favorite
This is possibly my favorite of L.M. Montgomery's books, Anne included. It's a tremendous Mary Jane story... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tracey
LOVE it!
The first time I read The Blue Castle was about 5 years ago on a road trip with 2 teen-aged daughters and we ended up reading it out loud. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Emily
Valancy Learns To Stride Forth!
This is by far my favorite of L.M. Montgomery's novels. It tells the story of 29-year-old Valancy Stirling, who has been snubbed, disrespected and dismissed by her bullying... Read more
Published 2 months ago by MS
A beautiful romance
I love L.M. Montgomery's books, and I'm collecting all of them that I can find. The Blue Castle was a magnificent surprise - a grown up honest-to-goodness romance, filled with... Read more
Published 4 months ago by cavegirl
an extraordinary novel!
For almost twenty-nine years, Valancy Stirling has lived a drab, colorless existence, at the mercy of her controlling mother and extended family that view her as little more than... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ruth Anderson
The best book you have never heard of.
I was in the out-of-print and collectible book business for 20 years. I have handled every kind of old forgotten favorite from Gene Stratten Porter, Patricia Veryan, E.d.E.N. Read more
Published 11 months ago by RRP
One of my favorites
This is one of my all time favorite books. I've had to steal it from my sister over the years when I was wanting to read it. My hubby surprised me with it recently and I loved it. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Patricia
Dear Valancy!
This is the most charming and romantic of L.M. Montgomery's novels. Valancy puts aside her old, dreary life of care amongst family members who don't love her. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Sarah Hill
Lovely book --so uplifting!
I've been a fan of L.M. Montgomery's children's books for many years, and it was only recently that I came across The Blue Castle (in e-book form for my Kindle). Read more
Published 16 months ago by T. L. Eaton
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Citations (learn more)
23 books cite this book:
See all 23 books citing this book

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(7)
(6)
(3)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
Agree with these tags?
See all 10 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:













i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...