Chronicles of Avonlea

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Appropriate for: Ages 10+

Genre: Canadian Literature

Length: 192 pages

Year of Publication: 1912

Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories by Lucy Maud Montgomery set in the beloved town of Avonlea and the towns surrounding it. Avonlea is the home of Anne Shirley, and, although Anne only plays a small part in these stories, the Anne-ish tendency toward scrapes is still dominant in many of the characters. As you will discover in this book, Anne is not the only human being in Avonlea with an exciting life. Written in the ever-brilliant and engaging voice of Montgomery, these stories cover everything from marriages to elopements, from auctioned babies to dying wishes. Some of the stories are toned with a sweet sadness, while others are hilariously and ridiculously funny. Yet, despite the various tones of these twelve short stories, all of them have satisfying endings and are filled with innumerable life lessons. 

My favorite stories from Chronicles of Avonlea were “Old Lady Lloyd,” “The Winning of Lucinda,” “Quarantine at Alexander Abraham’s,” and “The Courting of Prissy Strong.” In “Old Lady Lloyd,” Miss Lloyd discovers that the daughter of her former beau is residing in her neighbor’s house for the summer. Out of a desire to help the young lady, the old woman sends secret gifts and performs random acts of kindness for her unsuspecting beneficiary. “The Winning of Lucinda” recounts the resolution of a dispute between Lucinda and her former beau, Romney. The resolution is slow in coming, however, because Lucinda has sworn never to speak to Romney again. Lucinda’s tongue is finally loosened by a fall into a creek. In “Quarantine at Alexander Abraham’s,” Angelina Peter MacPherson, a firm man-and-dog-hater, is quarantined at the smallpox-infected house of Alexander Abraham Bennet, a dog-loving misogynist, as a result of accidentally entering his house while calling on church business. The outcome is all but disastrous. “The Courting of Prissy Strong” tells the tale of timid Prissy Strong, her possessive sister, Emmeline, and Prissy’s anxious beau, Stephen Clark. Although forbidden by Emmeline from ever approaching Prissy again, Stephen Clark is anxious to find a way for him and Prissy to marry without the knowledge of the fierce Emmeline. In the end, Anne Shirley, a closet window, and a step ladder save the day. 

As a collection of short stories, each chapter of Chronicles of Avonlea has different characters, a different plot, and a slightly different setting from all of the others. Therefore, the book can be somewhat boring if you are in search of an epic novel. But, if you are aware that Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories when you begin, you will not be disappointed with what you find. This book has very little objectionable content. However, there are a couple misuses of the Lord’s name, many of the stories deal with romance, there is a reference to drinking, and some of the antagonists are openly anti-Christian. Good always prevails in these stories, though, and Montgomery keeps the romance very clean. In the stories that deal with religious topics, Montgomery communicates and supports the biblical worldview accurately and thoroughly. A minister even shares the Gospel message with another character in one of the stories. Another item to be aware of is that some of the women characters in Chronicles of Avonlea have a very low view of men in general. At the end of the stories, however, many of these women learn that they cannot go on without the men and, frequently, end marrying one. 

Montgomery’s work contains many valuable lessons about various topics – including self-sacrifice, true love, God-given talents, and resolving disputes. In addition, Chronicles of Avonlea is entertaining, humorous, and an easy read. Because the large number of stories involving romance, however, I suggest that only children ten and up should read this by themselves. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this book to families with young or old children looking for a good read-aloud. Montgomery is sure to satisfy the desires of every “kindred spirit” with these twelve excellent short stories.

Rilla of Ingleside

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Appropriate for: Ages 13+

Genre: Canadian Novel

Length: 277 pages

Year of Publication: 1921

The year is 1914 and Anne Shirley is Anne of Green Gables no longer. Anne is now married to her childhood chum, Gilbert Blythe, and now lives in Glen St. Mary, sixty miles away from her childhood home in Avonlea. In fact, Anne has been a Blythe for over two decades, and Gilbert and Anne now have six children. These children are children no longer, but are all virtually adults – that is, except for fourteen-year-old Bertha Marilla, the youngest Blythe, who is the unlikely heroine of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s final installment of the Anne of Green Gables series. Bertha Marilla, called Rilla by her friends – and enemies – is but a child, despite her desire to dress like a lady and go to parties. Rilla, unlike the rest of the Blythe children, does not wish to go to college and possesses no aspirations concerning a career. She would rather live her life as a “lily of the field.” Thus far, she is off to a good start, for, while adored by her family and friends, Rilla is slightly vain, a little dramatic, somewhat selfish, a bit lazy, and unmistakably beautiful. However, when foreign conflicts drag Canada into World War One, Rilla’s life takes an unexpected turn. She is forced to discard her own vain, selfish drama as she watches her brothers and childhood playmates go off to join the uncertain fate of the Allied army in Europe. Longing to aid the cause of her country even though she is unable to join her brothers and friends in the war, Rilla fights her own battles at home at Ingleside and takes up tasks that she once despised. She organizes the Junior Red Cross in Glen St. Mary, “adopts” an orphaned baby, learns to bake, and even takes up knitting and sewing for the cause of those most affected by the war. Through her escapades, trials, and heartbreak during the painful years of the war, Rilla matures into a true woman. And, as she discovers, being a true woman is much more than attending parties and wearing long dresses. 

Rilla of Ingleside, the eighth and final book of the Anne of Green Gables series, does not have many prominent faults, but there are a few to mention. Probably the biggest fault of Rilla of Ingleside is the very problem that haunts all of Montgomery’s Anne novels: A lack of plot and intrigue. If you’re used to fast-paced thriller novels, this might be a tough read for you. Each chapter has its own sub-plot and only a few, but very prominent, plots or themes are threaded throughout the entire book. As a result, the read can become monotonous at some points, but I love it because it is so Montgomeryish – it is adds to L. M. Montgomery’s signature voice that includes so many styles of writing, including wit, humor, solemnity, and romance. 

In addition to the slow-moving plot, Rilla of Ingleside contains several statements that reflect non-Biblical worldviews. I have a difficult time discerning exactly what these worldviews are and whether Montgomery includes these statements to create diversity in her characters or if some of the statements are true reflections of her worldview. However, the pantheistic statements, for example, that elevate nature to the status of a god, are often just a part of Montgomery’s regular use of figures of speech such as personification and pathetic fallacy. Other examples can also be explained away, but they can still make the Christian reader a little uncomfortable. The novel also includes a couple cases where a character uses the Lord’s name in vain. However, foul language is not used with extreme flippancy as it is in some contemporary movies and is openly discouraged in the book by some of the characters. The final fault of the novel is the discussion of events in the war. Although Montgomery does not include any overly graphic descriptions of the horrors of WWI, the dreadful acts done during the war are frequently mentioned and may be disturbing to younger children. As a result, I believe this novel is most appropriate for teens and adults. These faults, however, are not sufficient to keep any teenager or adult from reading this beautiful, hilarious, heartbreaking work. 

Although Montgomery’s novel is not perfect, the positive aspects of her work certainly outweigh the objections. First, unlike her mother – the angelic, imaginative Anne of Green Gables – Rilla of Ingleside is a very human girl with very human faults. In fact, many of her quirks often remind me of my own oddities. As a result, Rilla is very easy to relate to, and her maturation throughout the book is a great encouragement to all of her very human audiences. Second, as someone who does not know much about the early 20^th century, I have found Rilla of Ingleside to be somewhat educational. Not only does Montgomery mention major events of WWI, but she also reveals to 21^st century readers what it was like to be a family working and waiting at home as brothers, sons, and friends fought in the “War to end all wars.” Overall, Montgomery’s book is brilliant. In addition to her consistently witty, humorous, and romantic style of writing, Montgomery implements a touch of sadness and hardship not fully explored in her other Anne books. In this way, she gives an entirely new depth to her Anne of Green Gables series and her beloved characters. I highly suggest that you add Rilla of Ingleside to your reading list!