Anne of Avonlea is the follow up to Anne of Green Gables and the second book in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s most famous series. As with the first book, I have lost count of the number of times I have read and re-read this book. This series, in particular the first three books, have been favorites of mine since I received them as a Christmas present many, many years ago. That being said, this time the shine wore off a bit on this book and the […]
Literary Kindred Spirit
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve re-read this book as it has been a favorite of mine for a long time. The book, and it’s follow up books, are classics for a reason. During a recent bout with insomnia I decided to pick it up again and was charmed all over again by Anne and her scrapes. The plot is quite well known, but just in case here it is. Mathew and Marilla Cuthbert, a pair of spinster siblings who run a […]
When you are imagining, you may as well imagine something worth while
Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are a middle-aged brother and sister who live together and manage the farm of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island in Canada. They intend to take in a small orphan boy to be of help to them on the farm, but due to a mix-up, little eleven-year-old Anne Shirley is sent to them instead. Matthew, who is extremely shy, especially around women, nonetheless warms to the loquacious and imaginative child and after hearing a bit about the hardships the orphan girl […]
Charmingly Satisfying!
Thanks to both Emmalita and Mrs. Julien for their passionate reviews of this book that led me to track it down. Thanks to Interlibrary Loan, I have a yellowing copy from 1993 with some seriously sappy back cover art. However, that did not dampen my enjoyment of this 1926 gem. As the novel begins, Valancy Sterling is living a life of quiet and cowed desperation. She’s 29 years old, living with her mother, and surrounded by relatives that alternately snub and belittle her. They believe […]
Fear is the Original Sin
I have a fondness in my heart for Canada as a result of repeated readings of L.M. Montgomery’s Ann of Green Gables series during my childhood. Canada seemed like the opposite of Texas – cool, green, and full of people who loved you because you were difficult. I stopped reading Ann of Green Gables as a teen, but I would list it as a series that shaped my life. At no point, however, had it ever occurred to me that the author might have had […]
One Crowded Hour of Glorious Life Is Worth an Age Without a Name (and a Cannonball)
All her life, Valancy Stirling has lived on a quiet street in an ugly little house in northern Ontario, Canada and never dared to contradict her domineering mother and unforgiving aunt. The deeply squelching kind of small town life L.M. Montgomery describes for Valancy is one that I recognize as Canadian, but of course is universal. To escape her life of quiet desperation, Valancy has created a world apart for herself called “The Blue Castle”. This private realm in which things are beautiful and she […]
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