Mistress Pat (1935)

Everything goes so wrong for Pat for so long that I never really got over it. This is L.M. Montgomery, though, so you know everything works out in the end. ( )

Mistress Pat picks up a shortly after the end of Pat of Silver Bush. At ease in her role as mistress of Silver Bush while her mother recovers from the surgery that left her terribly weakened, Pat spends her days in the company of her younger sister Rae, who refuses to go by the old nickname "Cuddles" now that she's all grown up, and the ever indomitable Judy Plum, whose stories continue to retain their fantastical charm for all Pat has grown too old to continue to believe in witches and fairies. Now 20, Pat has learned to accept the inevitability of change, though she still dreads its arrival. For Pat, there is still no better place than Silver Bush and no beau whose charms can compare with the charms of her beloved home. Beaus may come and go, their company making for a nice time, but Pat knows that it will take more than a good time with a cordial companion to make her want to get married and leave the familiarity of SIlver Bush.

Like the Green Gables series, the two Silver Bush novels cover a lengthy span of time. Mistress Pat alone spans an 11 year time period, and Pat is only around 7 when she is first introduced in Pat of Silver Bush. My calculations are terrible, but I believe Pat is 27 or 28 when the novel ends...perhaps even 30, there is much speculation on the great-aunts' part that Pat is permanently "on the shelf". However, I never felt like the story dragged; Pat is such a lively, spirited character with incredibly modern (dare I say feminist?) sensibilities that I felt like I was getting to know a dear friend's life story. Pat and Judy's friendship is as lovely as ever, and her relationship with the grown up Rae adds a new dimension to Pat's character as we get to see her interacting with an equally independent and modern sister. The Gardiners continue to be a funny and fussy bunch, but Pat can now manage her relatives without feeling the least bit downtrodden. There is a good dose of melodrama in the story, but it wouldn't be an LMM novel without it. Thwarted loves and misalliances abound, but they are in the background and serve to counter Pat's own level-headed attitude towards marriage. A few scenes are also quite saddening, particularly in the final chapters when Pat must face the inevitable loss of several dear friends. Nevertheless, Pat's is a hopeful and optimistic story, though bittersweet at times, and I feel very glad to have found copies of these two wonderful books.

Gricel @ things-she-read.org ( )

i really want to like this book, but it spent 350 pages hitting me over the head with depression, and then dropped the two worst possible scenarios in the last two chapters. seriously, lmm? i guess the end redeemed it all somewhat, but for an lmm book, getting there was sometimes more painful that it should have been. ( )

Mistress Pat continues the story of Pat of Silver Bush and covers an 11-year period in Pat's life. Readers familiar with Montgomery's other works will find many similar episodes in these pages, but they are none the less enjoyable for that.

In Montgomery's world, the greatest barrier to love seems to be the unwillingness of the woman to understand and acknowledge that her feelings for the man run deeper than friendship. Anne, Emily, and Pat all suffer from this. All three heroines share an almost-painful awareness of beauty and love of poetry. Pat is probably the least likeable of the three; she has few ambitions save her plans of living always at Silver Bush, and though she loves beauty she does not have any artistic pursuits such as writing. She is intelligent but does not care for school. In some ways her love for Silver Bush is like an obsession. One thing I did enjoy about Pat was her sharp wit with her suitors. I don't remember Anne or Emily being quite so acerbic, and it was rather funny in places. Though this paragraph hasn't been overly complimentary to Pat as a character, I do like her. But I understand why these books are much less known than the Anne and Emily stories.

Montgomery did pull one or two surprises in this story. I couldn't believe who Sid brought home as his wife, or the fate of Silver Bush at the end. But for the most part the story rolls on slowly over the eleven years, like it would have for quiet country people. I enjoyed my foray into that world and I recommend the Pat books to those looking for more of Montgomery's magic. ( )