The Blue Castle: Retold in Simple English

By L. M. Montgomery

"I've never had a real life.

I've just breathed in and out."

Valancy Stirling wakes up

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kiss Books
• Release date: Jun 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869374370

L. M. Montgomery

L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery (1874-1942) was a Canadian author who published 20 novels and hundreds of short stories, poems, and essays. She is best known for the Anne of Green Gables series. Montgomery was born in Clifton (now New London) on Prince Edward Island on November 30, 1874. Raised by her maternal grandparents, she grew up in relative isolation and loneliness, developing her creativity with imaginary friends and dreaming of becoming a published writer. Her first book, Anne of Green Gables, was published in 1908 and was an immediate success, establishing Montgomery's career as a writer, which she continued for the remainder of her life.

Book preview

The Blue

Castle

Lucy Maud Montgomery

Retold in simple English by Raina Ruth Nakamura

Kiss Books

Copyright © 2024 Raina Ruth Nakmura

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

Adapted from The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Public Domain

Book Cover by Masako Kubo

https://www.masakokubo.com

Edited and Formatted by Walton Burns

www.alphabetpublishingbooks.com

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Foreword

Valancy’s Birthday

Beating the Snake

Sneezes Aren’t Allowed

The Rosebush and the Letter

Her Own Pile of Dust

The Anniversary Party

Roaring Abel Needs Help

Just pure damn luck

Barney to the Rescue

Cissy’s Great Relief

A Surprise in the Garden

The Cabin on Lake Mistawis

The Stirlings Get a Shock

Moonlight in the Woods

Winter on Mistawis

A Few Seconds of Terror

Valancy Hears the Truth

A Stranger Visits

Barney’s Other Secret

Back on Elm Street

The Family Bible

Chapter Notes

Foreword

from Raina Ruth Nakamura

Though many people have read the Anne books by Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Blue Castle is not as well known. But there are some big fans of The Blue Castle who have written about the book online. Here is a post I especially enjoyed by Elena (Elle) Wiggins. It’s from her blog called Beautiful Hope on the site Blogger.

"This is one of Montgomery’s few adult novels and has a more mature feel to it than the Emily and Anne books. However, the characters of all these books have things in common, such as living in strict families, enjoying nature, and eventually living life fully. This was the most humorous of her novels, in my opinion. She often makes fun of society’s strict rules and the Stirling family’s pride.

It was also interesting to read an L.M. Montgomery novel that was not set on Prince Edward Island, as most of her books are. I really loved reading about the natural environment of Muskoka Lake in Ontario. I had never heard of this region in Canada, but I found that it’s about 220 kilometers north of Toronto. The lush woods and serene lake sounded breathtakingly beautiful and reminded me of Lake Tahoe in California. If you like feeling transported into a setting while you read without long descriptions, this was beautifully done in The Blue Castle.

The book started out somewhat depressing, but it turned into a funny and meaningful story. It went a lot differently than I expected, so it didn't feel boring at all. I just absolutely adored it."

I’ve tried to keep all the wonderful elements of The Blue Castle that Elle mentions. I hope you enjoy it.

About the cover art

I found the beautiful piece of cover art through Elle’s blog post. It’s by Masako Kubo, a Japanese artist living in New Zealand. Here’s what she says about the piece.

"I stumbled upon The Blue Castle when I was looking for a book for a personal project. I was fascinated by the early 1900s lifestyle and also loved the way Montgomery described the beautiful nature of Muskoka. These are the biggest inspirations for my illustration."

Valancy’s Birthday

Because of the rain, Valancy Stirling’s whole life changed.

Of course, she didn’t know that yet. All she knew was that she woke on her twenty-ninth birthday in a gray mood to match the gray sky. Her whole family thought she was a failure because she wasn’t married. She had felt, before today, a tiny bit of hope that romance might still find her, but now she gave it up completely.

That’s it for me. I’m going to die unloved by any man. Or anybody at all.

Tears formed in her eyes, but she quickly forced them back. No red eyes for her mother to ask questions about. Questions, questions, questions, like flies buzzing around her. Another reason she needed to stay calm was the chest pain she’d been having recently. When she got upset, the pain was so strong that she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t know what caused it, but it scared her.

She looked around her ugly room. There was no other way to say it: it was ugly. The wallpaper was old and faded. On the floor beside her bed was the handmade rug from her Aunt Wellington. Only Aunt Wellington would put red, green, and yellow together on a brown background. On top of her dressing table was a jar of potpourri her mother had made many years ago. Behind the jar was a cracked mirror.

It wasn’t that her mother didn’t have the money to replace the rug or the mirror. It was that Valancy had never asked. Well, once she had asked for a new bedspread, and her mother had said, Why do you need a new bedspread? No one ever goes into your room. Valancy’s own mother thought she was a nobody.

But she wasn’t a nobody in her Blue Castle. In real life, she felt shy and unwanted. But in her Blue Castle, she had boyfriends and even lovers. They had changed over the years as she grew up. When she was twelve, her beau had curly blond hair and blue eyes. When she was eighteen, he became a dashing young man with dark eyes and dark hair. When she was twenty-five, he changed again to a strong, athletic type. Just recently, another change: her hero now had reddish blond hair, a crooked smile, and a secret past.

Her Blue Castle was filled with long marble staircases and cool splashing fountains. The castle itself was settled in the high mountains of Spain, hidden within a beautiful forest of pine and fir trees. Whenever she felt sad or lonely, Valancy escaped to her fantasy world and spent many happy hours there.

But on this rainy