#blue castle book club

[batrachised]

going through my photos and this one has strong John Foster vibes

#blue castle book club

[thesweetnessofspring]

The Blue Castle by frivolousdistinction on DeviantArt

#blue castle book club #the blue castle #lm montgomery #l.m. montgomery #valancy stirling #barney snaith #valarney #fanart #tbc fanart

[the-moral-of-the-rose]

If anybody wanted to write a crossover between L.M. Montgomery's books, here is a little help with the ages of the characters (@no-where-near-hero maybe it will be a tiny help for your fanfic):

Anne Shirley - born on 5th of March 1865

Gilbert Blythe - born in 1862 or 1863

James Matthew "Jem" Blythe - born in July 1893

Walter Cuthbert Blythe - born in 1894

Anne "Nan" and Diana "Di" Blythe - born in 1896

Shirley Blythe - born in 1888*

Bertha Marilla "Rilla" Blythe - born in 1900*

Gerald "Jerry" Meredith - born 1894

Faith Meredith - born 1895

Una Meredith - born 1896

Thomas Carlyle "Carl" Meredith - born 1897

Jims Anderson - born in August of 1914

Emily Byrd Starr - born on 19th of May 1888

Ilse Burnley - born in 1888 (probably)

Perry Miller - born in 1887

Frederick "Teddy" Kent - 1887 or 1888

Dean Priest - born in 1865

Patricia "Pat" Gardiner - born in 1913

Rachel "Rue" Gardiner - born in 1919

Winnifred "Winnie" Gardiner - born in 1910

Sidney "Sid" Gardiner - born in 1912

Joseph"Joe" Gardiner - born in 1908

Hilary Gordon - born in 1911

Elizabeth "Bets" Wilcox - born in 1913

David Kirk - born around 1893

Jane Stuart - born in May 1918 or 1919

Valancy Stirling* - born 1883**

Barney Snaith - born 1877**

Cecilia "Cissy" - born 1886**

Olive Stirling - born 1884**

Gay Penhallow - born in 1904***

Nan Penhallow - born in 1904***

Roger Dark - born in 1890***

Donna Dark - born between 1894 and 1896***

Virginia Powell - born between 1894 and 1896***

Peter Penhallow - born between 1888 and 1890***

Margaret Penhallow - born 1872***

Brian Dark - born 1916***

Hugh Dark - born in 1887***

Joscelyn Penhallow: born between 1889-1892***

*In both Anne of Ingleside and Rainbow Valley Shirley is two years older than Rilla. But in Rilla of Ingleside, he turns eighteen few months before Rilla... it is pure chaos. Rilla was supposed to be nearly fourteen, according to the RV, in 1914, but she is nearly fifteen in RoI. So I apologize, but I had a lot of trouble here...

**The Blue Castle is the most difficult to place in time. It is set several years before it was published, and in my own opinion: before Tangled Web and Pat of Silver Bush. Why? Because of this reference: "This was before the day of bobs and was regarded as a wild, unheard-of proceeding—unless you had typhoid." (The Blue Castle). Bobs were already "in fashion" at the beginning of Pat of Silver Bush (so, in 1919, when Pat was six years old: it was said that Winnie wanted to have her hair bobbed) and in Tangled Web (which is set in 1922). Yet, the cars, motorboats and movie theaters were a rather common occurence in The Blue Castle's times. But... there might be an explanation. Valancy doesn't live on PEI, which might have been a little "behind" the rest of Canada, as far as modern technology went. It is my own personal opinion, but I think that it might be set just before the war, at the same time as the end Emily's Quest. I know that the clothes seem more "modern" in TBC, but Emily wore "a little sport suit" and dress that was described as followed "there was so little of it". Teddy and Perry both had cars, as sone of Ilse's cousins. I would say that the Blue Castle book might be set around 1912-1913. Still, the timeline is extremely elusive. Please, let me know, dear Blue Castle Book Club's members, what is your opinion? I think I have read some amazing discussion about TBC's timeline a long time ago, but if I remember correctly, everyone was certain that this novel was set post WWI (me included, until this very moment when I tried to place Pat and Tangled Web and remembered the "bob" quote). So I choose 1912 as the beginning of TBC, when Valancy was twenty-nine.

*** the ages of characters in Tangled Web:

"They were first cousins, who were born the same day and married the same day,--Donna to her own second cousin, Barry Dark, and Virginia to Edmond Powell--two weeks before they had left for Valcartier. Edmond Powell had died of pneumonia in the training camp, but Barry Dark had his crowded hour of glorious life somewhere in France." (Tangled Web).

"Virginia Powell, whose husband had been dead eight years and who was young and tolerably beautiful" (Tangled Web).

"Valcartier, Quebec was the primary training base for the First Canadian Contingent in 1914."

- from: https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/going-to-war/canada-enters-the-war/training-at-valcartier/

So, from this I assumed that Virginia's husband died in 1914 (so Tangled Web is set in 1922-23). Gay is 18 at the beginning, so she would be born in 1904. If Donna and Virginia were 18-20 when they got married, they would be 26-28 (so still "young"). at the beginning. Peter was 14 when Donna was 8, so he'd be 32-34 at the beginning of the book (same age or a bit older than Roger). Hugh was 35 at the beginning. I guess Joscelyn was a bit younger- most of LMM's heroines are at least two years younger than their love interest. I'd say she might have been 20-23 when she got married, so she'd be around 30-33 at the beginning of the book. I would say Brian is about six years old - he doesn't seem to attend school yet, but is big enough to be sent to the harbour. Margaret Penhallow was about fifty at the beginning of the book.

So sorry that this post was rather long, but it was a great fun to write (even if it took me A LOT of time). Thank you for reading. Please, let me know if you agree. Any feedback will be very welcome!

#lm montgomery #emily of new moon #anne of green gables #tangled web book club #tangled web #aogg #blue castle book club #the blue castle #Pat of silver bush #Rilla of ingleside #Rainbow Valley #I know I haven't included marigold or kilmeny #But I don't know how to place Kilmeny tbh #And I need to reread marigold before i will be able to include her here #I think I will reblog or add them later on

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

The ending of the Blue Castle didn't resonate with me at all until I learned it was basically wish fulfillment for LMM. When I read it initially, I mostly went, "ah. Valancy gets to have her cake and eat it too. Got it" and wasn't terribly impressed. It all seemed very neat and convenient and fake -- nice enough, but not terribly fulfilling.

And then I learned a bit more about LMM herself and her life and her circumstances and the ways in which the Blue Castle seems to have been an expression of deeply needed wish fulfillment that she never achieved in her real life and suddenly it worked for me. Valancy never has to face any repercussions for marrying someone she thinks is penniless purely because she loves him because LMM in her real life wasn't able to make that kind of choice and this was as close as she could come to it. Valancy gets to be happy and free and wealthy and loved not in spite of how unlikely that is in the real world but because of it. LMM never got her fairy tale ending, so the closest she could come was writing it for someone else, someone who doesn't exist and so gets to ignore the seemingly omnipresent and deeply oppressive rules of reality.

I'm writing this at work, after an extended vacation to see my family that I know I am lucky to be able to have taken. I have a good job in the field I went to school for that I like doing. I have been back to work for two days and I want nothing more than to curl up into a tiny ball and never have to deal with reality again. I will never be able to just walk away from everything I hate and all the obligations and stresses of my life. Like Valancy at the start of the book, I am going to be poor and stressed for probably my entire life. (I just saw my entire extended family -- who, unlike Valancy's, are all lovely. We are all of us some level of poor and stressed. We played by the rules as they were explained to us and got degrees and jobs in our fields and still worry about making bills each month. I know what my future entails.) Unlike Valancy, it seems very unlikely that I will meet a threadbare millionaire who solves all of my problems, practical and emotional, in one fell swoop of affirmation and material support.

Maud's material circumstances were different from mine, but she seems to have been in a similar emotional place: she could see the future sketched out before her and the shape of it offered nothing but more of the same. And so she wrote Valancy, who changed her future and was rewarded for it, because you have to do something to keep the despair at bay. If you can't have your own happy ending, writing someone else's will do.

And that hits me deeply. I don't crave the emotional wish fulfillment of the Blue Castle -- I am lucky enough to have a partner I love who loves me back -- but the practical fantasy of 'what if all your worries about dying penniless could be whisked away without having to sacrifice anything meaningful'? Boy could I use some of that.

#thoughts from the fire escape #blue castle book club #I an having a Time right now y'all

[afflictedgirls]

i love the names that lmm gave to the cats in her books. saucy sal? banjo and good luck? lucifer and the witch of endor? first peter and second peter? all excellent cat names, every last one of them.

#lmm #lucy maud montgomery #blue castle book club #the blue castle #emily of new moon #jane of lantern hill #magic for marigold

[whenthegoldrays]

It's hilarious to me how a lot of The Blue Castle is spent hinting at a Big Plot Twist/Reveal, and as the reader you're excited to see whether your theory is correct and what Valancy's reaction to it will be, but once the reveal comes, so much insanity has happened to her in the last 24 hours that when she does find out she's just like "okay, this might as well happen I guess"

#it was just. so funny #the way lmm sets up this big juicy reveal and in the end it's like the least of valancy's worries #the blue castle #valancy stirling #lm montgomery #blue castle book club #elly's posts

[alwayschasingrainbows]

Valancy Stirling is the most relatable of L.M. Montgomery's heroines, I think.

Not many people can have Emily's talent, Pat's sensitivity, Anne's charm, Rilla's courage or Kilmeny's beauty.

But many people, just as Valancy:

have insecurities,

go through a time when they feel unloved and unwanted,

are afraid to offend someone,

find it difficult to voice their opinions,

rely on their sense of humour to survive,

have their own "blue castle",

hope for a "dustpile of their own".

Valancy is just a girl. A woman with insecurities, hopes and dreams.

She teaches us that there is a courage in each one of us, even though sometimes we cannot find it.

She teaches us it is possible to find friendship, love and happiness in every situation.

She shows us that something seemingly destroyed might yet blossom - just like her rosebush did - and turn out to be exquisite.

#lm montgomery #blue castle book club #blue castle #valancy stirling #my musings

[bluecastlecomic]

Previous |

So we've come to the end of what I've decided is Part 2! I'll be taking a couple months to build up a buffer of pages going into Part 3, especially because since starting this project, a lot of my circumstances have changed - mainly that I'm working full time again and I don't have as much time to dedicate to this project as I used to have. That said - this puts us past the halfway point of this project!

Regardless, I'll be back as soon as I can be. I want to finish this project before moving onto new projects, so don't worry, this won't be left unfinished!

To everyone who's commented/liked/reblogged: thank you so so much! It's really really helpful and encouraging to see people respond positively to this project, especially on days when I'm particularly frustrated.

Go to Start | Start Part 2

#the blue castle #ink wash #lucy maud montgomery #pen and ink #adaptation #graphic novel #first time graphic novel #can lit #l m montgomery #art on paper #blue castle #blue castle book club

[batrachised]

the puprle dinosaur????

Laughing at the idea that the Barney I've been fanatically blogging about for weeks straight, describing as the ultimate romantic hero and someone the girlies go wild for, meticulously analyzing his behavior, tossing around romantic fanfic ideas about him, was actually Barney the dinosaur the whole time

#what can I say I'm an og fan #blue castle book club

[thesweetnessofspring]

Valancy was fingering her necklace. She was wearing fifteen thousand dollars around her neck. And she had worried lest Barney had paid fifteen dollars for it and couldn’t afford it. 

Valancy: I just want something pretty and frivolous for Christmas! :)

Barney: Gotcha. *Paying the equivalent of over $200,000 CAN today*

*Platonically*

#that's nearly 150k in us dollars #the blue castle #blue castle book club #valarney

[the-moral-of-the-rose]

Montgomery's female characters that were not-exactly-pretty-but-fascinating-and-charming:

Anne Shirley:

"Public opinion never agreed on Anne’s looks. People who had heard her called handsome met her and were disappointed. People who had heard her called plain saw her and wondered where other people’s eyes were. [...] While Anne was not beautiful in any strictly defined sense of the word she possessed a certain evasive charm and distinction of appearance that left beholders with a pleasurable sense of satisfaction in that softly rounded girlhood of hers, with all its strongly felt potentialities." (Anne of Avonlea).

Emily Starr:

"A slender, virginal young thing. Hair like black silk. Purplish-grey eyes, with violet shadows under them [...]; scarlet lips with a Murray-like crease at the corners; ears with Puckish, slightly pointed tips. [...] An exquisite line of chin and neck; a smile with a trick in it; such a slow-blossoming thing with a sudden radiance of fulfilment. And ankles that scandalous old Aunt Nancy Priest of Priest Pond commended. [...] With all this—pretty? I cannot tell you. Emily was never mentioned when Blair Water beauties were being tabulated. But no one who looked upon her face ever forgot it." (Emily's Quest).

Valancy Stirling:

"Valancy was still leaning forward. Her little hat with its crimson rose was tilted down over one eye. Olive stared. In the moonlight Valancy’s eyes—Valancy’s smile—what had happened to Valancy! She looked—not pretty—Doss couldn’t be pretty—but provocative, fascinating—yes, abominably so." (The Blue Castle).

Pat Gardiner:

"Somehow people seldom wondered whether Pat Gardiner was pretty or not...she was so vital, so wholesome, so joyous, that nothing else mattered. Yet her dark-brown hair was wavy and lustrous, her golden-brown eyes held challenging lights and the corners of her mouth had such a jolly quirk. She was looking her best to-night with a little flush of excitement staining her round, creamy cheeks. She felt as if she were slipping back into the past." (Mistress Pat).

Jane Stuart:

"Your granddaughter is going to be a very handsome girl," a lady told grandmother. "She doesn't resemble her lovely mother, of course, but there is something very striking about her face."

"Handsome is as handsome does," said grandmother in a tone which implied that, judged by that standard, Jane hadn't the remotest chance of good looks." (Jane of Lantern Hill).

Thora Dark:

"Whenever she came into a room people felt happier. She lighted life like a friendly beaming candle. She had a face that was charming without being in the least beautiful. A fascinating square face with a wide space between her blue almond-shaped eyes and a sweet, crooked mouth. She was very nicely dressed. Her peculiarly dark auburn hair was parted on her forehead and coronetted on her crown. There were milky pearl drops in her ears." (Tangled Web).

Marigold Lesley neé Richards (Marigold's Aunt, a wife of Uncle Klondike, a female doctor):

"She had a little, square, wide-lipped, straight-browed face like a boy's. Not pretty but haunting. Wavy brown hair with one teasing, unruly little curl that would fall down on her forehead, giving her a youthful look in spite of her thirty-five years. What a dear face! So wide at the cheekbones—so deep grey-eyed. With such a lovely, smiling, generous mouth." (Magic for Marigold).

#lm montgomery #anne of green gables #emily of new moon #tangled web book club #aogg #tangled web #the blue castle #blue castle book club

[kehlana-wolhamonao3]

How I imagine the dress which made Barney call Valancy Moonlight :)

#blue castle book club #the blue castle book club #the blue castle

[everythinglucymaudmontgomery]

DEEP BREATH and POST!

Edited to add: I don’t think I said it before but a HUGE thank you to @dustpileofherown for her encouragement to share.

#lucy maud montgomery #l.m. montgomery #the blue castle #lm montgomery #tbc #blue castle fan art #blue castle book club #valancy stirling #valancy snaith #barney snaith

[all-peristeronic]

I always wondered what Cousin Georgiana's candlewick spread looked like, and apparently candlewick spreads are really pretty.

#the blue castle #blue castle book club

[alwayschasingrainbows]

Valancy/Barney headcanons (written because I needed something happy):

They have a lot of small "anniversaries", such as "an anniversary of the day we ate our first hot-dogs together", or "an anniversary of the the day Valancy's rosebush bloomed". Barney laughs that they need to celebrate each one of them. If they can't find any memory, related to this particular day, Barney usually says "That's probably an anniversary of the day Lady Jane broke", and Valancy answers with "What if she didn't?" And Barney grins "That would be an even better reason to celebrate".

After finding out that Valancy had never received a love letter, Barney writes her a 10 pages long one, in which he compares her to the starlight, calls her "Elf Maiden of the woods" and straight up tells her she's "the fairest of them all" and "the most precious jewel of his heart". He sends it via post.

Valancy likes to buy her husband small gifts to put on his desk. He has quite a collection of porcelain cats, dogs, owls and rabbits.

Valancy still remembers all of Uncle Benjamin's old jokes, and recites them to Barney. They can't help laughing at how bad these riddles are.

Valancy buys all of her and Barney's visit clothes, because Barney "can't be bother to do that, Moonlight". But he goes shopping with her sometimes, and while he pretends to sigh, he secretly loves it.

Valancy's new diamond ring makes Uncle Benjamin jump with joy. But Valancy still loves and wears her old one, as well.

Dr. Redfern wants to organize Valancy's and Barney's vows renewal ceremony, because he really wants to see his "boy" getting married. The party that is held afterwards is an event of the season.

#the blue castle #blue castle book club #lm montgomery

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

The Valancy She destroyed her cage Yes YES The Valancy is out

#blue castle book club #blue castle chapter 14 #more thoughts to come later