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The Blue Castle is a novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, published in 1926. The story is set in the fictional town of Deerwood, located in the Muskoka region of Ontario, Canada. The protagonist, Valancy Stirling, is a 29-year-old "old maid" who has lived her entire life with her nagging mother and aunt and gossipy extended family. After being diagnosed with a terminal heart ailment, Valancy rebels against the colorless life they imposed on her. She moves out of her mother's house and takes a position as a housekeeper for childhood friend Cissy Gay and her father, master carpenter and notorious town drunk Roaring Able. Valancy meets and spends time with Barney Snaith, who is a good friend of both Abel and Cissy. Valancy proposes to Barney, revealing that she is dying and wants to enjoy the remaining time she has left. Barney agrees to marry her, and they have a quiet ceremony the next day. Valancy's family is horrified by her marriage to such a "disreputable" man and effectively disowns her. Barney takes Valancy to his home on a wooded island located on Lake 'Mistawis,' which Valancy sees as the 'Blue Castle' of her imagination. They build a contented life together, though he forbids her from ever entering a certain room in the house which she dubs 'Bluebeard's Chamber'. The year she had to live is almost over when Valancy is nearly killed by an oncoming train, her shoe caught in a train track. Barney saves her in the nick of time, risking his own life to do so. After the shock passes, Valancy realizes that she should have died of it: the doctor warned that any sudden shock would kill her.