The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

This is a sweet novel about a woman who, after being repressed all of her life, breaks free.
Valancy Stirling is a twenty-nine year old woman, unmarried, living with her mother and elderly cousin in turn of the century Ontario. Valancy is your textbook old maid. She's not very pretty, is quiet and subdued, and has never once been anyone of distinction. Every day of her life has been a disappointment and all she's ever wanted was one day of happiness, little does she know, her life is about to change forever. After a small act of rebellion, she decides to visit a heart doctor about some odd palpitations she's been having. She eventually learns that she has a very serious heart disease and has maybe a year to live. Valancy decides to stop living in fear of what other people might think or say, and starts doing and saying things she's always kept inside. She also leaves her mother's house to go work as a caretaker of an ill girl whom she went to school with who had an illegitimate child, and who's father was a known town drunkard, much to the horror and disapproval of her family. There is a man named Barney Snaith who visits this house on a regular basis to visit these people, and who holds something of a speculatively dubious reputation himself. As Valancy interacts with these people more and follows her own thoughts and wishes above those of other people's, and is finally needed by others, she begins to grow into the person she has always wanted to be.
The author was a bit wordy at times, giving descriptions that were a little too long about family members or situations or even quotations from novels Valancy enjoyed, but overall these didn't detract from the plot overmuch. There were also some annoying spelling errors, Valancy spelled Valance, Snaith spelled Smith, 'an' instead of 'a', things like this. They were few and far between, but still noticeable. I don't really find these annoying as I find it kind of a game to spot these errors in novels, but if that does annoy you they are here. They story is better than it's errors though, so I would recommend that you read it despite the spelling.
This was a very sweet novel. We are introduced to Valancy in all of her spinsterly misery. She was born into a tight-knit, very judgmental, upper middle class family. Her family does, and always has, pick on her for being unmarried and unattractive, and generally ignore her if they're not using her as a butt of one of their jokes. However, there is a hidden fire in Valancy that no one in her family can guess at, and after discovering her imminent death, decides that she need not be a slave to her fear anymore and let that fire out, as she won't be alive to have to deal with the gossip-mongering disapproval of her family. Events lead her to be living in the Muskokas, scenic cottage country a couple of hours north of Toronto, and the novel becomes a celebration of nature. The author describes the wildlife Valancy encounters with majesty and splendour. Her descriptions of the lakes and forests are magical. I have been to Muskoka and it was beautiful, but after having read this book I feel that I must go again, in winter this time.
The title of the book, the Blue Castle, makes reference to Valancy's dream castle. The place where she would mentally go when her physical life seemed unbearable. As the novel progresses, the Blue Castle moves from Valancy's dreams to the world she's living in. It represents her happiness, and as she openly becomes the person she has always been inside, her Blue Castle seems that much nearer.
This novel  was written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon and many others. The Blue Castle is one of her few adult novels and holds all of the charm and magic that her young adult novels have. I would definitely pick up this author, not just this book. There have been film adaptions to many of her stories, including: Anne of Green Gables, Road to Avonlea, Emily of New Moon, and Jane of Lantern Hill. If you don't want to read the novels (which I recommend that you do) at least watch the films. They're all heart-warming, charming, slightly romantic stories with strong characters and whimsical prose. Do it.

Lantern Hill (1990)

Lantern Hill is based on the novel Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery, the same author who wrote Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon. The movie was produced by Sullivan Entertainment, like Anne was, and just like Anne, this movie is a great find. I'm actually surprised I hadn't heard of it before acquiring it by chance and watching it. It really is very good.

The story follows a girl named Jane who lives in Toronto with her mother in the early 1900's. Her mother comes down with a serious illness however and Jane is forced to leave her middle class home to move in with her very wealthy grandmother while her mother recovers. Jane doesn't fit in very well here and, much to her grandmother's horror, would much rather spend her time in the kitchen or doing housework than socializing with other girls from elite families. She is also frequently bullied by her cousin who one day tells her that her father, whom she was told passed away, is alive. Her grandmother receives a letter soon after that from her father, requesting that Jane comes to live with him for a time in Prince Edward Island. Fearful of legal issues that could arise, her grandmother has no choice but to send her away. Jane of course goes along and, like many heroines in LMM books we get the sense that she isn't really wanted or needed (unlike many heroines though she does have both parents alive). Jane arrives and is picked up by her father's sister, who Jane seems not to gel with immediately. Jane meets her father, who is a writer, and he's a scatter brained person with a big dog and a house by the sea on Lantern Hill. At first she feels just as ostracized and out or place as she did back in Toronto, but as her relationship with her father gets a little better and she slowly settles into island life she feels happy. She also finds out that there is a potential woman in her father's life now, but he has never remarried since her mother. Jane of course wants her parents to reunite.

This movie is fantastic. It has the same level of production as Anne of Green Gables, but the story and character types are different so it has a different feel to it. Jane is a really great heroine. She's a good heroine because even though she loves doing domestic things (unpopular even today as something a woman should aspire to or even enjoy in some circles) she doesn't give in to the situations she's thrust into. She isn't very vocal about what she wants, but she stubbornly stays true to herself.

Also, a young Sarah Polley has a role in the film as a young scullery maid who befriends Jane. As fans may know, Sarah Polley stars in another successful Sullivan production called Road to Avonlea, which is a series featuring the town Anne was a part of, though she's not in the show at all.

Anne of Green Gables: The Collection

Anne of Green Gables is a great movie series. Every time I watch it in get caught up in the whimsy and romance and innocence present in both the story line and the characters themselves.

The story is about a young orphan girl, Anne, who is sent by mistake to an elderly couple in Prince Edward Island who wanted to adopt a boy to help out around the farm. The couple were unhappy with the mistake at first, but ultimately decide to keep her. Anne has a penchant for getting into trouble. She has a lot of pride and a hot temper when she thinks that someone is trying to belittle or make fun of her, and this temper gets her into quite a bit of trouble as the series progresses. She always manages to get out of them however, endearing herself to the other characters in the story, as well as to the viewer. She is constantly loosing herself in fantasy and whimsy, as a defense mechanism to deal with the rejection and pain she's had to deal with. The result is that her head is constantly in the clouds, more in the beginning of the series. She begins to live more in the real world as she receives love and acceptance from those around her. We follow her through school, friendships, family, and romance.

Anne is such a great character. Despite the seemingly head-in-the-clouds quality to her, she is a very strong character. She meets every challenge head on with everything she has. She's both romantic and passionate, romantic both in the relational and idealistic sense. She sees the world through dreamy eyes and is constantly in search of true, strong relationships, 'bosom friends'. She is also very optimistic, but not naively so, like in a Pollyanna-ish sense. She always allows for the best possible outcome, and strives for perfection, but is aware that bad things light happen, because they have already. She's ready to deal with what may come, and has already dealt with a lot in her young life, but still refuses to succumb to the drudgery and depression of the world. The romance between her and Gilbert Blythe is also very sweet... I think we'd all like to meet a Gilbert Blythe.