L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942)

Originally published in 1920, Further Chronicles of Avonlea was the second 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. It is my understanding that Montgomery never gave her permission for this project, and successfully sued her publisher - who culled these selections from those rejected during the editing of the 1912 Chronicles of Avonlea. In light of that fact, I sometimes wonder if she would show more have chosen to suppress some of these tales. Of course, that is most likely wishful thinking on my part...

The truth is, I have always felt that Further Chronicles of Avonlea shows L.M. Montgomery at her best, which is very good indeed; and her worst, which - as a devoted admirer of her work - I'm sorry to say, is simply atrocious. This collection contains one of my all-time favorite short-stories by Montgomery: the somewhat moralistic, but deeply moving The Brother Who Failed. Sadly, it also contains the repugnant Tannis of the Flats, a story whose matter-of-fact racism makes we wish I could expunge it from my memory.

In between these two covers, the reader will encounter:

Aunt Cynthia's Persian Cat, in which a young woman's courtship is brought to a conclusion by a troublesome cat left in her care...

The Materialization of Cecil, in which lonely spinster Charlotte Holmes invents a long-ago suitor for herself, in order to avoid the pity of the young women in her sewing circle, only to have the mythical Cecil Fenwick appear for real in Avonlea. This story, like others here and in Chronicles of Avonlea, was used (in an altered form) in the television show The Road to Avonlea.

Her Father's Daughter, in which young Rachel Spencer, about to be married, insists that her long estranged father must be present at her wedding, setting off a chain of events that reconciles her bitterly separated parents...

Jane's Baby, in which two estranged sisters, both widows, fight over their cousin Jane's baby...

The Dream-Child, an eerie tale in which a bereaved mother comes to believe that her dead child is calling to her from the sea...

The Brother Who Failed, in which the Monroe clan gathers for a family reunion, and honors the quiet Robert for his many acts of kindness and wisdom...

The Return of Hester, in which the eponymous Hester returns from the dead, to undo the harm she had done in life, by forbidding her younger sister's marriage...

The Little Brown Book of Miss Emily, in which Anne Shirley and Diana Barry (of Anne of Green Gables fame), read the diary of an old maid, and gain an appreciation for the romantic sorrow of her youth...

Sara's Way, in which the stubborn Sara Andrews refuses to marry the worthy Lige Baxter, until misfortune brings him low...

The Son of His Mother, in which near tragedy teaches a fiercely devoted mother to share her son's love...

The Education of Betty, in which a man takes a hand in raising his best friend's child, eventually falling in love with her...

In Her Selfless Mood, in which the unloved Eunice Carr sacrifices everything for her scapegrace brother...

The Conscience Case of David Bell, in which a church elder finds himself unable to testify at a revival meeting, until he makes a public confession of his transgression...

Only a Common Fellow, in which a seemingly vulgar young man rises to the height of self-sacrifice and nobility, when the long-missing true love of the woman he himself adores, returns unexpectedly...

And finally, the terrible Tannis of the Flats, in which a love-triangle involving an exiled Englishman and a mixed-blood Native Canadian woman leads to tragedy...

When I think of this last selection, I often wonder how it is that a woman with such an intimate understanding of human nature, such a perceptive appreciation for questions of morality, and such an eye for beauty, could have failed to perceive the ignorance and stupidity, the sheer immorality, and the downright ugliness of racism. But then, I suppose we are all products of our time, and our humanity goes hand-in-hand with our inhumanity. A difficult idea to accept, when it comes to a much-beloved author, but there you have it: Montgomery too had feet of clay... show less

Emily Byrd Starr climbs the "Alpine Path" in this second novel devoted to her story, following upon Emily of New Moon, and preceding Emily's Quest. Determined to persevere in her writing, Emily knows that further education is vital, but is convinced that her guardian - stern Aunt Elizabeth Murray of New Moon farm - will never consent. Imagine her surprise and delight when she discovers that she will have an opportunity to attend high school in nearby Shrewsbury! Delight, that is, until she show more learns the price: she must give up writing stories for three years...

L.M. Montgomery has always been one of my favorite authors, and I recall reading and enjoying the entire Emily Trilogy as a young adolescent, taking its sensitive heroine - with her close circle of friends, her entertaining adventures and misadventures, and her growing talent - very much to heart. I relished Montgomery's intensely descriptive language and romantic sensibility, and identified with Emily's almost mystical appreciation of beauty, and desire to be a writer. I joined her in her contempt for the false Evelyn Blakes of the world, mourned with her when a poem or story was rejected by a magazine, and thrilled with her when one was accepted!

Revisiting these books as an adult, as part of the L.M. Montgomery Book Club to which I belong, I have discovered that my appreciation for them, always strong, has been bolstered by a better understanding of the social constraints of their time. Nowhere is this more evident than in this second installment of the series, where Emily finds herself in hot water when her friend Perry steals a kiss, and is almost made a social outcast after a dangerous snow-storm forces her to take shelter in an abandoned house with her good friend Ilse Burnley and (horrors!) two young men. The fact that Emily is often described as Montgomery's most autobiographical creation, makes me wonder if the author was deliberately making a point here, about the absurdity of her own society's obsession with respectability.

However that may be, Emily Climbs has retained its place in my literary affections, while also yielding some surprising social commentary that escaped me as a younger reader. I'm glad to have reread it, and look forward to revisiting the third installment! show less

One of the few L.M. Montgomery titles that I did not read in my childhood, A Tangled Web was a double treat, in that it contained so many well-loved Montgomery "types," but was also wholly new to me. The simultaneous feeling of friendly familiarity and excited discovery that I experienced while reading it made it the ideal book in which to lose myself for a few wonderful hours.

Chronicling one year in the life of the interrelated Dark and Penhallow clans, whose many scandals, quarrels, and show more love affairs are brought to the fore when family matriarch Aunt Becky refuses to disclose who is to inherit the old Dark jug (a much-coveted heirloom), A Tangled Web offers a rich tapestry of stories, each entertaining in its own right, and all woven together in a moving portrait of extended family life on Canada's Prince Edward Island.

Here the reader will encounter the beautiful Gay Penhallow, merry and young, who is convinced that her love for her fiancé Noel Gibson will last forever - until he is stolen away by her femme-fatale cousin Nan. Here are Peter Penhallow and Donna Dark, who have hated each other all their lives because of their fathers' quarrel, until a chance meeting causes them to fall instantly and violently in love. Here too are Joscelyn and Hugh Dark, inexplicably separated on their wedding night; Little Sam Dark and Big Sam Dark, two bachelors who part ways over religious principle and a naked statue; lonely little Brian Dark, who longs for a mother; and wistful, poetic Margaret Penhallow, who longs for a child... All these quandaries, and more besides, are happily resolved by the end, as Montgomery brings her many story-lines together in a satisfying and very appropriate ending. Naturally, the Dark jug goes to the right person!

That said, although I am a devoted fan of Montgomery's work, and enjoyed A Tangled Web, I think the contemporary reader will be quite uncomfortable, as I was, with two glaring instances of racism in the book. The first was Little Sam's "harmless hobby" of collecting skulls from the local Indian burial ground and posting them on his fence, and the second was the unfortunate use of the word "n*gger" at the very close of the story. It's possible that Montgomery was simply trying to convey the "courseness" of the characters involved, and I'm sure an argument could be made that this is how people "back then" thought and spoke. I wouldn't say that the inclusion of these two elements ruined the novel for me, but they certainly inserted a most unwelcome and ugly tone in an otherwise pleasant book. show less

This is one of many well-known and much-loved classics that I have never read before. I have family members who really like it, so I decided that with my recent reading revolution, it was time to give it a try. I'm so glad I did, as I really enjoyed this book!

Anne has such a fiery spirit, and while I would probably be a bit frustrated to be around her much in person, I liked reading her monologues. The reactions by both of her guardians often produced a smile from me too. Though as a parent show more who is currently dealing with a strong-willed child who tends to melt down when she doesn't get her way, some of scenes where Anne threw a fit made me cringe. To see Anne change as she aged 5 years in this book was wonderful and realistic, and while she lost some of her loquaciousness, she remained the same kind, generous girl at heart.

I absolutely loved Matthew, and really liked seeing Marilla's character change throughout the book. When tragedy struck, even though I could guess what was coming, I was devastated with Anne. I am really looking forward to reading the further books in this series. show less