#lmmontgomery

Okay this is SO hard because her books are amazing but I just have to admit Rilla of Ingleside is my favourite, which is saying a lot because I LOVE HER BOOKS, okay! I adore the Story Girl duology and I absolutely love the Anne series and Jane of Lantern Hill.

But Rilla. This book is a heartbreaker. And it’s so beautiful.

I don’t know if I can fully express how much is to be found in this book. I have been reading it yearly for many years, and always come away with new thoughts. As I grow older, and see more of the world, I relate and understand more, and another level of the book is discovered.

The setting—a small P.E.I. town carrying on through WWI. I’m pretty tough when it comes to war books, but I have to take breaks from this one because it is so raw and real. The agony is intense. I cannot even cry over it—my heart hurts too much for tears. This shows exactly what the Great War was for people. You sway back and forth, feeling the dread and terror. You know how it ends but you are broken anyhow. And when the end comes, you too can only rejoice softly. You feel as if you have paid part of the price yourself.

“‘We’re in a new world,’ Jem says, ‘and we’ve got to make it a better one than the old. That isn’t done yet, though some folks seem to think it ought to be. The job isn’t finished—it isn’t really begun. The old world is destroyed and we must build up the new one. It will be the task of years. I’ve seen enough of war to realize that we’ve got to make a world where wars can’t happen. We’ve given Prussianism its mortal wound but it isn’t dead yet and it isn’t confined to Germany either. It isn’t enough to drive out the old spirit—we’ve got to bring in the new.’”

The characters in this book—they are alive. Splendid Jem, brave and merry and true; Jerry, steady and dutiful; Walter, sensitive and courageous; Carl, cheerful and fearless; Shirley, honest and reliable; Nan and Di and Anne, all heart-wrung and smiling; Gertrude, tragic and grasping for hope; the Doctor, determined and self-sacrificing; Susan, simple and true—and Rilla, who starts out a silly, frivolous girl and ends a strong, mature woman. Then there are all the minor and side characters—the Merediths, Cousin Sophia, Jimsy, Ken, Irene, Whiskers-on-the-Moon & his family, Mary and the Elliotts, Norman + Ellen, and everyone else. They’re all so alive, so real, so funny and terrible and beautiful—I swear Glen St. Mary exists and all the inhabitants thereof.

The story follows the Great War, from the first days in August 1914 to the bitter Summer of 1919, where peace has come but normal will never return. As a child, this story was simply World War One—a faraway, long-ago grief and horror and agony. Now, in 2024, as a woman, I have experienced a slight taste of what the people of 1914 felt, and it has humanized the story of the War. This, more than any other book I have read, brings the War and the world of 1914-1918 to life, showing how they were people just like us. The heart is wrung by their suffering, and there is no escape, for the war must drag on for long bitter years. And the price! Walter has become the face of unknown, forgotten heroes, and Jem has become that of the scarred heroes who returned. Every November we grieve the young men who never came home, and for the ones who came home missing a part of themselves, physical or otherwise. I have wept thinking of the children of Rilla, Ken, Faith, Jem, and the others—children who fought in WWII and whose parents were forced to relive the horrible conflict of mankind.

“It has been such a dreadful week,” she wrote, “and even though it is over and we know that it was all a mistake that does not seem to do away with the bruises left by it. And yet it has in some ways been a very wonderful week and I have had some glimpses of things I never realized before—of how fine and brave people can be even in the midst of horrible suffering.”

And yet the book overflows with humour—real laugh-out-loud scenes and witty, clever banter on princes and politics. It is another aspect of the humanity—the part that cannot fully let go of laughing despite the drain. Another angle is the shrewd commentary on principalities and powers, nations and cultures, is thought-provoking, as is the remarks that show us how the war truly changed the world.

“There was a time,” she said sorrowfully, “when I did not care what happened outside of P.E. Island, and now a king cannot have a toothache in Russia or China but it worries me. It may be broadening to the mind, as the doctor said, but it is very painful to the feelings.”

But the biggest things to me is the SPIRIT of this book. The spirit of perseverance, endurance, courage, and love. Of course, man is man, and there is suspicion, contempt, and a feeling of superiority—but this is not exclusive only to Anglo-Saxons. As someone who isn’t Anglo-Saxon myself, and actually of mixed cultures, I can attest every nation is guilty of such. World War One was a battle of good vs. evil—not of man vs. man, but Idea against Idea—the idea of civilization against militarism. Perhaps not on the part of the leaders—but when one studies the writings, letters, poems, and speeches of the everyday folks caught up in the war, one sees this distinction plainly. It was not a war of European against European, Anglo-Saxon against German—it was a war between an old, terrible Idea of Prussianism (Frederick the Great, anyone?) and the Idea of Respect and Peace.

“And you will tell your children of the Idea we fought and died for—teach them it must be lived for as well as died for, else the price paid for it will have been given for nought.”

May we never forget.

A REMARK: I discovered that Rilla of Ingleside was abridged by about 4,300 words (~14 pages), so I searched for an unabridged copy. I definitely encourage you to take the extra trouble to find an *unabridged* copy. It is SO worth it! I’ve read both versions and the unabridged is so much fuller, with a great deal more humour and fun.

I just have to pick out my favourite quotes, too…

“We all come back to God in these days of soul-sifting,” said Gertrude to John Meredith. “There have been many days in the past when I didn't believe in God—not as God—only as the impersonal Great First Cause of the scientists. I believe in Him now—I have to—there's nothing else to fall back on but God—humbly, starkly, unconditionally.”

“‘Our help in ages past’—‘the same yesterday, to-day and for ever,’ said the minister gently. ‘When we forget God—He remembers us.’”

Below her [window] was a big apple-tree, a great swelling cone of rosy blossom.... Beyond Rainbow Valley there was a cloudy shore of morning with little ripples of sunrise breaking over it. The far, cold beauty of a lingering star shone above it. Why, in this world of springtime loveliness, must hearts break?

And I can’t leave without some humour:

"She seemed to walk in an atmosphere of things about to happen." LM Montgomery

Books and quilts always look wonderful together! Especially the quilts inspired by amazing authors.

This literary quilt features quotes from LM Montgomery, Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

That moment when you realize that your books are cottagecore . . .  

#cottagecorebeforeitwasatrend ;)

Check out THE VERITAS CHRONICLES before the #Kindle sale ends at midnight:

Canada is asking the PUBLIC to nominate a new person for their $5 bank note!

https://www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes/banknoteable-5/

I think it would be really cool if people nominated Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Some Quick Facts about L.M.M. :

Best-selling Canadian author of all time

Published 20 novels, 530 short stories, 500 poems, 30 essays

Anne of Green Gables alone has sold over 50 million copies

translated into 36 languages

24 movie and television adaptions (not counting play, musicals or web adaptions of which there are many as well)

Charlottetown’s stage adaption is the longest running musical in Canadian history

Prince Edward Island’s tourism industry basically thrives because of the popularity of her books.

In 1943 she was named a National Historic Person by the Canadian Government

The nomination form is open until March 11, 2020

Like the Book

1. Tone

To my utmost surprise, Season 3 of AWAE departed from the sad lonesome tone of the previous seasons, a tone which the creators made known was a proud departure from the book, and instead matched the tone chosen by L.M. Montgomery. While I wonder what caused this change, I can’t deny I enjoyed it. The season starts with the teens hanging out and playing hockey. In fact, the entire episode felt like it was part of the early 20th century slice of life genre Montgomery had written in. It was happy and light and true to the book.

2. Newspaper

About half of the episode is dedicated to the school newspaper. While there was no school newspaper in the book, Anne and the gang do put together a town newspaper in Anne of Avonlea. As it appears the AWAE writers knew a cancellation was imminent, it is not surprising they chose to bring this fun storyline from the second book to an earlier part of Anne’s life. The dynamic of the teens on the newspaper staff and their total seriousness of what really isn’t that incredible of a paper is incredibly accurate to L.M. Montgomery’s writing.

3. Ruby Doesn’t Understand Anne

In Episode 1, Ruby remarks that she never knows what Anne is talking about. I LOVED that line. It comes straight from the book. The whole birthday party for Anne was very reminiscent of the novel. The girls’ dynamic in this season finally matches that in the book. Aka, they actually like each other now. Anyways, there was something wonderful about how the scene paralleled the scene in Anne of Avonlea where the girls hang out and Ruby utters the same line.

Not Like the Book

1. Courting at 16

In Episode 1, Mrs. Pye pressures Josie to get engaged at 16. In the book, none of the girls even talk about getting engaged until they are 18. Even then, Diana gets engaged at 18 and her mother, who is considered the moral backbone of the town, forbids her from getting married until 21 because any younger than that would be too young. Now, I don’t know whether marriage at 16 is historically accurate, but the fact the L.M. Montgomery actually lived during the time period she wrote about and chose not to have her characters marry before 18 is telling. Maybe she was reflecting reality or maybe she was making a statement. Regardless, I was rather frustrated by this part. It was certainly not true to the book. 

2. Ruby and Gilbert

In the book, Gilbert and Ruby date for most of Queens. And then SHE isn’t sure if she is into HIM. The book shows Ruby as powerful and widely pursued. Plus, through her relationship with Gilbert, Ruby learns an important lesson: just because a dude’s hot doesn’t mean he isn’t a giant nerd. Meanwhile, in AWAE, Ruby pines over Gilbert for the third season in a row and is pretty much rejected. It’s sad. Ruby is essentially reduced to a delusional girl obsessed with a boy instead of the popular girl who could get any boy she wanted that she was in the book. 

Conclusion: Much more like the book than season 1 and 2. While season 1 had more scenes taken straight from the first book, the first episode of season 3 better matches the feel of the book and the dynamic of the characters. The departures are frustrating for me, but, frankly, not that important to the book. 

And man I forgot about them killing off John Blythe.