The Blue Castle by Montgomery, Lucy Maud (L. M.) - 1926

Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Good. 1926. Second Printing. Hardcover. [viii], 311 p. 19.5 cm. Meets all points for a second Canadian issue, as described in Frank and Juanita Lechowicks' "A Collector's Guide to L.M. Montgomery Firsts". (p 89) Bound in plain, grey cloth-covered boards, with blue lettering titles on upper board and spine. Binding is square and fairly sound, although the front inner hinge has cracked along the gutter and the mull is exposed. Light soil to both boards. The spine is darkened and the cloth along its edges has thinned. There is fraying to both the head and the tail of the spine. One fore-corner has softened, and the remainder of the corner tips show a little wear. Text block edges have a few soil spots and are toned. Inside there is a previous owner's name and date (1954) on the front free endpaper. Both sets of endpapers have a bit of soil and slight darkening. A dozen or so of the inside pages have some foxing or tiny stain spots in the top or bottom margins. None of these affects the text. A photo of the worst of the staining is included in this listing. A few pages have a soft crease to the bottom fore-corner. A stand-alone novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery, telling the story of a woman named Valancy Stirling, and which takes place in the Muskoka Lakes area of Ontario. This was the first adult novel written by Montgomery, and the only one of her books that was not set in Prince Edward Island. As noted by the Lechowicks, the story "encompasses themes of nature, the North, escape, seclusion, love and mystery". A scarce copy of such an early printing, but not without faults. .