Chronicles of Avonlea (1912)

I have read this collection of short stories by L.M. Montgomery - the author of such beloved children's classics as Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon - more times than I can count. But despite that fact, and no matter that I know what's coming, I never seem to be prepared for the emotional impact that some of these "Chronicles of Avonlea" have upon me. I always laugh when reading The Hurrying of Ludovic and The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's, thrill in sympathy at Each in His Own Tongue, and weep with Old Lady Lloyd and Little Joscelyn. Familiarity does not seem to lessen the power of these tales, nor does my awareness of their overt sentimentality detract from their appeal, and I return to them from time to time, always with a feeling of coming home. The treasures found in The Chronicles of Avonlea include:

The Hurrying of Ludovic, in which Anne Shirley plays a role in bringing the courtship of Ludovic Speed and Theodora Dix to a happy conclusion...

Old Lady Lloyd, in which a lonely old woman, reduced to poverty but too proud to ask for help, finds someone to love...

Each In His Own Tongue, in which the loving but stern Mr. Leonard discovers that his grandson's gift for playing the violin is just as much a gift from God as his own call to the ministry...

Little Joscelyn, in which elderly Aunty Nan has her fondest wish granted, when "Little Joscelyn," all grown up and a world-famous singer, comes to visit her one last time...

The Winning of Lucinda, in which an fifteen-year-old quarrel between Lucinda and Romney Penhallow is most unexpectedly resolved...

Old Man Shaw's Girl, in which a father and daughter are joyfully reunited...

Aunt Olivia's Beau, in which Mary and Peggy Sterling witness the reunion of their old-maid aunt with Mr. Malcolm MacPherson, her suitor from years before...

The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's, in which a man-hating, cat-loving woman, and a woman-hating, dog-loving man are unexpectedly stuck with each other due to a smallpox quarantine...

Pa Sloane's Purchase, in which the elderly Pa Sloane returns from an auction with a most unusual "purchase"...

The Courting of Prissy Strong, in which a long-abandoned courtship is resumed between Stephen Clark and Prissy Strong, despite the vehement objections of Prissy's older sister...

The Miracle at Carmody, in which Judith Marsh decides that she does believe in God after all, when her sister Salome's lameness is cured...

And finally, The End of a Quarrel, in which Nancy Rogerson and Peter Wright get a second chance at love, and this time don't let bad grammar stand in their way...

Addendum: Not unexpectedly, my latest reread of Chronicles of Avonlea, for our August discussion, over in the L.M. Montgomery Book-Club to which I belong, has only confirmed my love for these stories. Their humor, both broad and subtle, was just as appealing as ever, and their sense of pathos just as moving. I was particularly struck, this time around, by the importance of religion in so many of Montgomery's stories, and by the truly respectful and intelligent way in which issues of the spirit are handled in her text. It's not that the ubiquity of religious belief - usually of an unbending Presbyterian sort - in the society Montgomery is depicting had escaped me before, but it occurred to me, as I was reading, that her work stands above so many other popular stories in which religion plays an important role because there is no hidden didactic aim in her writing (she is not writing to convince you of anything), there is no hateful, smug sense of superiority (the one true atheist, Judith and Salome Marsh's father, in Miracle at Carmody, is described as a loving and thoughtful man), and there is no sense of religious authority being above challenge, or incapable of error (even the saintly Rev. Leonard, in Each in His Own Tongue, discovers that he is wrong, and that the sinful old reprobate, Abel Blair, is right). I think that it is this quality, this way of treating religion seriously, as a meaningful part of people's emotional and intellectual lives, rather than just as a "practice," but without descending (usually) into any sort of treacly sentimentality about it, or displaying any unctuous piety, that spoke to me so strongly, as a girl, and still does. This is akin to the sort of religious upbringing I had. How lovely to discover that I am kindred spirits with L.M. Montgomery in yet another way! ( )

It's not easy to write about childhood favourites in other than glowing terms. I can see all the things I would criticise - even dislike - had I first read this book now. The overwhelming heteronormativity, the association of singlehood with a poorer, less worthwhile life, the demonstration that any woman who says she doesn't want to marry is lying both to herself and everyone else, that women are the houseworkers and that a man who cleans house is an oddbod, rare and remarkable, but laudable if he is a single dad.

On the other hand, I love these stories. They make me happy. ( )

It's not easy to write about childhood favourites in other than glowing terms. I can see all the things I would criticise - even dislike - had I first read this book now. The overwhelming heteronormativity, the association of singlehood with a poorer, less worthwhile life, the demonstration that any woman who says she doesn't want to marry is lying both to herself and everyone else, that women are the houseworkers and that a man who cleans house is an oddbod, rare and remarkable, but laudable if he is a single dad.

On the other hand, I love these stories. They make me happy. ( )

It's not easy to write about childhood favourites in other than glowing terms. I can see all the things I would criticise - even dislike - had I first read this book now. The overwhelming heteronormativity, the association of singlehood with a poorer, less worthwhile life, the demonstration that any woman who says she doesn't want to marry is lying both to herself and everyone else, that women are the houseworkers and that a man who cleans house is an oddbod, rare and remarkable, but laudable if he is a single dad.

On the other hand, I love these stories. They make me happy. ( )

Perhaps a little too sentimental this is a sweet little collection of stories. Anne Shirley appears as a cameo in a couple of them, but the rest are based around new characters living in or near Avonlea. Enjoyable light reading, but not as compelling as Anne's story. ( )