Rainbow Valley

I own a beautiful hardcover collection of all L M Montgomery's novels that my mother and grandmother bought me when I was about eight. It is one of my treasured possessions. So I have read Rainbow Valley more times than I can count. I recently enjoyed a Librivox narration and for the first time I was struck by how much of the story was focussed on the Meredith children bringing themselves up, and in particular their punishment club for when they failed to behave correctly.
Of course, I have always been aware that this was a large part of their story. But I had never considered the significance of it.
It doesn't lessen my appreciation for this childhood favourite, but it certainly does give me food for thought.

Originally published in 1919, this seventh book in L.M. Montgomery's eight-volume saga chronicling the life of red-headed orphan Anne Shirley (and then Blythe) - one could consider it a nine-volume series, if the recently released The Blythes Are Quoted was included - focuses on the adventures of Anne's children, together with their close friends, the Meredith siblings. Newly arrived in the village of Glen St. Mary, the Merediths - children of the widowed Rev. John Knox Meredith, the new Presbyterian minister in town, they include mischievous Faith and sweet-tempered Una, clever Jerry (Gerald) and scientifically-minded Carl - are soon fast friends with the young Blythes, and embroiled in the doings of village life. As the manse show more children, the Merediths are the center of village attention, something that often results in scandal, as they inadvertently give rise to gossip through their unconventional conduct. Whether it's taking in the runaway servant girl, Mary Vance - who herself eventually becomes part of the Rainbow Valley coterie - or meeting in the Methodist graveyard, everything the young Merediths do seems destined to set tongues wagging. As the novel progresses they resolve to "bring themselves up" in an effort to avoid embarrassing their father, but they meet with mixed success, proving that in the end there is no substitute for a mother. But will one be forthcoming...?

This being the work of L.M. Montgomery, who seemed to specialize in tales of orphans finding homes, and lonely people finding families (of one sort or another), there isn't much doubt as to the eventual outcome, but it is still a great pleasure to see the story of the Merediths unfold. I have always enjoyed Rainbow Valley, which, although one of the "Anne" books, seems far more focused on the Merediths than the Blythes, far more than its (subsequently written) predecessor, Anne of Ingleside. As the daughter of a minister myself, I identified with the idea of a minister's family being put under the community microscope, and sympathized with the Meredith children as they earnestly sought to do the right thing. There is clear foreshadowing here, in the scenes in which Walter Blythe envisions "the piper" that will eventually lead the boys of Rainbow Valley far afield, which makes sense as the book was published just after WWI, which features prominently in the subsequent Rilla of Ingleside. All in all, this was an engaging entry in the series - not one of my favorites, but by no means the weakest - and sets up the final installment very nicely. show less

Freshly returned from their European tour, Anne and Gilbert are reunited with their children and back in Ingleside. In their absence, a new minister, John Meredith has been appointed and has settled into the manse with his four rambunctious children who quickly bond with the Blythe children. As the children get into various adventures and mischief that frequently scandalizes their small community, the Meredith family must also face the realities of being without a mother and just what it means if their father should ever remarry.

I always forget how beautiful Montgomery's prose is until I settle down with her novels and then I immediately remember how lovely it is to just let the words wash over you. In this penultimate entry in the Anne show more series we get far more focus on the Meredith children then on Anne and Gilbert and their brood. However, the book is no less charming for this mild shift in focus. The adventures and scrapes the children get into are just as entertaining as those of the Blythe children and the quiet romance of John Meredith's courting of a local old maid is just as delightful. There is also the sharp contrast with the charms of life in this small community with the dark foreshadowing of the onset of WWI. show less

I remember reading Rainbow Valley when I was a kid and enjoying it, but not loving it. I still have that same issue today.

This is technically the 7th book in the Anne of Green Gables series. However, it was the fifth book published. L.M. Montgomery went back later and wrote Anne of Windy Poplars and Anne of Ingleside. I think that is why I often felt as if Anne of Ingleside was more dark than the earlier books in the series.

This novel though it proclaims it is an Anne of Green Gable book really has very little Anne or Gilbert. We now have Anne a mother of six children (3 boys and 3 girls) and still quite in love with Gilbert. However, most of the text follows the Ingleside's new neighbors, the Meredith family.

The father is a minister show more who is still reeling from the loss of his wife and is doing his very best to raise his children in less than ideal conditions. We quickly see that each of the Meredith children (Jerry, Faith, Una, and Carl) have found themselves to be awe struck by the Ingleside children and one can imagine them as teenagers.

The main reason why I marked this down two stars was the following:

One, I really don't recall dislike Susan (Ingleside housekeeper) this much as a child, but I really found that she rubbed me the wrong way in this book. Perhaps if I had not read "Rilla of Ingleside" and "The Blythes Are Quoted" after this novel I maybe would not have had the urge to shake the character. We do find out that she has maternal feelings to the youngest Blythe son (Shirley) due to her nursing him since Anne was ill for several months after his birth. That is all well and good. However, you definitely see that he is her favorite and she dislikes anything that Anne or Gilbert do to discipline him though she doesn't care about what they do with the other children. That and her constant warbling about Walter (second oldest Blythe son) writing poems and her implying that he was not really a "man" was just awful. I am sure that was the prevailing attitude back then, but it did not make it any easier to read.

Second, I have read I believe the majority of the short stories that L.M. Montgomery published. In many of them she has a number of themes she often returns to in these stories. The main storyline between John Meredith and Rosemary West was just that same storyline repeated in a longer novel. She often wrote short stories about one sister promising never to marry and the other sister holding her to it. I had forgotten that particular storyline until I re-read this the other day and I was dissatisfied by it since as I said I felt like I read the same story by L.M. Montgomery numerous times.

All in all a good read for those that want to catch up (as much as they can) with Gilbert, Anne, and their children. Also it is the last "cheerful" book in the series since Rilla of Ingleside was much darker in tone and subject manner. show less

This book picks up more or less where the last one left off, with Anne and Gilbert returning from their holiday and the children coming back from visiting Avonlea. There's a new minister in town and with him comes his several innocent but nevertheless mischievous children. Further, the group of them comes across a runaway orphan who is tired of being mistreated at the hands of the woman who supposedly cares for her.

Rainbow Valley concerns itself primarily with the children but is more focused on the new children in town than the Blythe children. It's such a weird turn in a series supposedly about Anne, who shows up but a handful of times in this book and is only briefly mentioned elsewhere. On the flip side, I will say the minister's show more children have more of young Anne's mishaps about them than any of her children do so in that way this book captures the spirit of the original Anne of Green Gables. There's also an ongoing plotline about the widowed minister's 'need' to remarry again, according to the townsfolk who think the children need a suitable stepmother.

It's strange to me that these books are considered children's classics (and indeed I originally read them as a child) as there's plenty in these books that isn't child friendly, including discussions around abuse and nonchalant talk of suicide. There's also many dated references, including calling all Asian people "heathens" and even the use of the n-word. And of course, many of the adults in this small town are very gossipy and judgmental, but that isn't seen as a bad thing nearly as much as it should be. The book then oddly ends with a reference to how World War I is on the horizon and how Jem and other young Canadian men will end up fighting and dying in that war in the near future.

The audiobook narrator does a pretty good job with this story, attempting to give different voices to each character, although it is difficult with so many children and so many adults to cover. Nevertheless, it is a much livelier rendition than some of the previous books' narrators managed to convey. Speaking of previous volumes, I'm not sure why anyone would want to pick up this book randomly without having read the others, but there are definitely holdover references from previous books in the series so it does not stand alone, even if it is more concerned about the Meredith clan than the Blythe one. show less

Rainbow Valley completes the shift started in Anne of Ingleside, moving the story away from Anne and her family and focusing instead on the new minister's family, the motherless Merediths. Mr. Meredith is a wonderful preacher, but very absent minded in everyday life. The four Meredith children, Jerry, Faith, Una, and Carl, are at the mercy of their doddering Aunt Margaret, who is really too old and blind to run the manse properly. The Meredith children often go without rather than ask their beloved father for anything, and after their doings scandalize the Glen they form a club for bringing themselves up, "since there is no one else to do it."

Mary Vance is also introduced in this story, and she quickly becomes with the reader what she show more is to her set: a habit we can't get along without. She is an abused orphan who runs away from her mistress and lands in the manse with the Merediths. Her spicy tongue soon leads to trouble, as little Una believes everything Mary says... even regarding ghost stories and the inevitable cruelty of stepmothers. Throughout the story Mary voices a lot of stark theological misconceptions common to unloved, unwanted children. The children, left to figure out these problems themselves from their innocent observation of the people around them, always do so in a way consistent with their characters. The story is all the stronger for it.

Norman Douglas is another favorite character who makes his first blustering appearance in this story. He is absolutely hilarious, the old pagan. The scene where Faith tells him off is so much fun! And I've always liked the love story subplots in this book — so very different, both sweet and hilarious. Ellen is fascinating. It's interesting that she is proven so right about the Kaiser of Germany, when the men in the story disagree with her political opinions on that score. We get hints of what is coming in Rilla of Ingleside with the Great War. The last chapter has the strongest foreshadowing, with Walter seeing a vision of the Piper who will call the boys of his generation and pipe them round the world.

Rainbow Valley is one of my favorites among the series, despite the fact that Anne is a minor character. The Merediths are lovable and their adventures fresh and entertaining. I used to think that Anne of Green Gables and Rilla of Ingleside were my top favorites, but I'm not so sure that Rainbow Valley isn't among them after all. Funny, fresh, and written at the top of Montgomery's form, this is a delightful story I love to revisit. Highly recommended! show less

Anne Shirley is grown up, has married her beloved Gilbert and now is the mother of six mischievous children.

These boys and girls discover a special place all their own, but they never dream of what will happen when the strangest family moves into an old nearby mansion. The Meredith clan is two boys and two girls, with minister father but no mother -- and a runaway girl named Mary Vance. Soon the Meredith kids join Anne's children in their private hideout to carry out their plans to save Mary from the orphanage, to help the lonely minister find happiness, and to keep a pet rooster from the soup pot. There's always an adventure brewing in the sun-dappled world of Rainbow Valley.