Jane of Lantern Hill (original 1937; edition 1977)

For most of her childhood, Jane Victoria Stuart believed that her father was dead. When she was eleven years old, she learned otherwise. For as long as she could remember, Jane had lived in Toronto with her lovely socialite mother and cold, repressive grandmother. Jane knows that her grandmother dislikes her, particularly the parts of her that seemed inherited from her father's side of the family. Jane, who has no memory of her father, hates him, too, because the memory of him seems to cause her beloved mother so much pain. Then, out of the blue, a letter arrives, demanding that Jane spend the summer with her father in Prince Edward Island. That summer is to change Jane's life forever.

On Prince Edward Island, Jane learns what it is to have friends, to be competent at something, and to be loved without the fear and restrictions that characterize her life in Toronto. Jane's dad welcomes her with open arms and an open heart. Together, they choose a little cottage on Lantern Hill to be their summer abode, and Jane delights in every aspect of housekeeping. She befriends all of the neighborhood children and learns new skills every delightful day, from cooking to gardening to swimming in the Gulf. She goes home a confident, independent young woman instead of the cowed child she has always been . . . and she can't help but wonder: what did go wrong with her parents' marriage all those years ago?

This is one of Montgomery's lesser-known works, but it remains one of my favorites. I love Jane's capable, down-to-earth nature, and I remember relishing her domestic conquests back when I first read the book at the age of nine or ten. And, though Jane is a child throughout the book (unlike many Montgomery titles, this spans only a couple of years, rather than the protagonist's entire girlhood), there are a lot of adult issues and concerns, not all of which are pleasantly resolved by the end of the book. It's a wonderfully complex story, and fans of Montgomery's other works should definitely seek it out. ( )

Jane of Lantern Hill is what one comes to expect from a novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery - charming, gentle and most decidedly hopeful. Written for a younger audience, Ms. Montgomery's Jane is spunky and delightful. While she faces and overcomes tyrannical adults, Jane teaches young audiences what it means to grow up, care for others and remaining true to one's self.

Ms. Montgomery's novels have familiar elements in them, and Jane of Lantern Hill stays true to form. She waxes poetic on nature and Prince Edward Island. The magic of a loving home is distinct, as are heroines who strike out on their own paths and succeed to charm all those around them who matter. In addition, Ms. Montgomery avoids patronizing the child audience she sets out to captivate while simultaneously creating a story that can be enjoyed by adults. In Ms. Montgomery's world, children are just as good, if not better, than the adults in the story because they have a purity and innocence that most of the adults do not possess. This lends hope to the targeted audience while providing a gentle reminder to the adult readers. Neither message taints the overall charm of the story.

Given this disparity between adults and children in most of Ms. Montgomery's novels, one cannot help but compare her stories to her own battle with depression. Does Grandmother represent the depression that clouds her life, while Jane represent her own struggles to break free? Is her message of hope that is a consistent theme in her novels one written as a reminder to herself to avoid succumbing to despair? One may never know, but this background knowledge does lend a new, insightful peek inside each of Ms. Montgomery's characters.

Jane of Lantern Hill is simply a lovely story about a young lady who blossoms through love. In taking care of her loved ones, she is able to overcome the tyrannical figures in her life and find the happily ever after in which she never gave herself permission to believe. Fans of Ms. Montgomery's works will find Jane just as reliable, just as fun and just as endearing as Anne. With characters like Jane, it is no wonder Ms. Montgomery remains one of childhood's most beloved authors.

Jane of Lantern Hill is one of my old favourites. It’s fairly typical Montgomery, with similarities to the Anne and Emily books in themes and style, but with its own story and a different cast of characters. Jane lives rather unhappily with her mother and grandmother in mainland Canada until one day out of the blue her father asks for her to visit him on Prince Edward Island. At first she doesn’t want to leave her mother, but she finds a lot to love about the Island, the people she meets there, and the freedom she finds. ( )

I recently reread this online and I was still caught in the charm of Jane's domestic bliss at Lantern Hill. This is entirely twee and sweet, but it is a quick and happy read for a rainy day. Available online here:
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200881h.html ( )

The book started out a bit slowly. It was more dismal than I remember Montgomery being, but that didn’t last long. Of course there had to be a contrast set up so that the raptures later were more intense. I think once I got fully into Jane’s story, I really felt the love for Montgomery’s writing all over again. I’ve adored her books since I was twelve years old (that’s a solid ten years of Montgomery loving for me), but it’s always nice to rediscover it and find that it still thrills me as much as it always did. It has been my comfort and sometimes my sanity when life was getting a bit bumpy.

I think domineering grandmothers are a fairly common strain in stories, or else I somehow seem to find all of the books that have them within as my favorites. (Strangely, I do not have a domineering grandmother, though I do have four grandmothers and I did have a great-grandmother until the age of twelve.) Jane’s story is no exception. The first strange instance in this novel is the widespread talk of divorce. I don’t think the mere idea of it would have been presented in some of her first novels, but as this was published almost thirty years after Anne of Green Gables, I imagine social norms affected her content as well as her life.

Jane has the enthusiasm of Anne once put into the right environment. Like so many of Montgomery’s heroines, she is spunky, adventurous, confident, and born to lead her peers. She has a keen sense of what is right and wrong, and once given the idea that she could be, a very strong will. These are all admirable characteristics and I can’t for a second fault Montgomery for imbuing her characters with them. They’re everything I wanted to be as an adolescent and I can’t imagine that it didn’t have at least some influence on who I have become.

I really loved the story, even if it was a bit predictable in spots. When you have read dozens of novels by the same author, though, it is only natural that you would learn his or her tricks and common literary elements. I think why I continue to love Montgomery’s novels, though, is that they are presented just enough differently each time that I don’t feel as if I am reading a rehashing of an older novel or story. It is all new and fresh, if similar. ( )