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Chronicles of Avonlea Review

"Chronicles of Avonlea" is a collection of short stories by L.M. Montgomery, "In which Anne Shirley of Green Gables and Avonlea plays some part, and which have to do with other personalities and events." First published in June of 1912 when Montgomery had published "Anne of Green Gables," "Anne of Avonlea," "Kilmeny of the Orchard," and "The Story Girl," it is my understanding that the author revised some of these stories to work in references to Anne and Avonlea, which would make them more palatable for her growing audience of readers.

This volume contains my favorite Montgomery short story, "Old Lady Lloyd," which is actually set in Spencervale. The title character is thought to be rich, mean and proud but is really only the last that is true. But then she hears of the plight of young Sylvia Gray and Margaret Lloyd finds there is something more important than her wicked pride. Montgomery does some nice twists with what is basically a fairy godmother story. "Old Lady Lloyd" also provided the basis for one of the first season episodes of the television series "Road to Avonlea," as did the comic romances "Aunt Olivia's Beau" and "The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's" from this volume.

Although "Old Lady Lloyd" is a love story of sorts, many of the dozen stories found here are more traditional romances. "The Hurrying of Ludovic" is about Anne Shirley's plan to help the ironically named Ludovic Speed to hurry up and ask her friend TheodoraDix to be married. "The Winning of Lucinda" and "The Courting of Prissy Strong" follow suit as well, although with Montgomery's wry sense of humor coming into play. But another strong theme in these stories starting with "Old Lady Lloyd" is the love of music, which comes into play in both "Each in His Own Tongue" and "Little Joscelyn." "Old Man Shaw's Girl" fits into neither camp, but is one of the better stories here as well.

This collection was followed by a second, "Further Chronicles of Avonlea," and if you take these two, "The Story Girl" and its sequel "The Golden Road," then you have the four books that served as the basis of various episodes of "Road to Avonlea." But if you are a fan of Montgomery's writing then you already know that even in her novels she often worked in various short stories and might even have come to the conclusion that she was better at short stories than at novels. Still, for those who found seven Anne books to be far too few, this collection is the first place to turn to find her in other stories.

Chronicles of Avonlea Overview

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Ill EACH IN HIS OWN TONGUE The honey-tinted autumn sunshine was falling thickly over the crimson and amber maples around old Abel Blair's door. There was only one outer door in old Abel's house, and it almost always stood wide open. A little black dog, with one ear missing and a lame forepaw, almost always slept on the worn red sandstone slab which served old Abel for a doorstep; and on the still more worn sill above it a large gray cat almost always slept. Just inside the door, on a bandy-legged chair of elder days, old Abel almost always sat. He was sitting there this afternoon — a little old man, sadly twisted with rheumatism; his head was abnormally large, thatched with long, wiry black hair; his face was heavily lined and swarthily sunburned; his eyes were deep-set and black, with occasional peculiar golden flashes in them. A strange looking man was old Abel Blair; and as strange was he as he looked, Lower Car- mody people would have told you. Old Abel was almost always sober in these, his later years. He was sober to-day. He liked to bask in that ripe sunlight as well as his dog and cat did; and in such baskings he almost always looked out of his doorway at the far, fine blue sky over the tops of the crowding maples. But to-day he was not looking at the sky; instead, he was staring at the black, dusty rafters of his kitchen, where hung dried meats and strings of onions and bunches of herbs and fishing tackle and guns and skins. But old Abel saw not these things; his face was the face of a man who beholds visions, compact of heavenly pleasure and hellish pain, for old Abel was seeing what he might have been — and what he was; as he always saw when Felix Moore played to him on the violin. And the awful joy of dreaming that he was young again, with unspoiled life...

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Customer Reviews

Love the book - Melinda Day - Eastman, GA
I loved this book as a child and really enjoyed it again as an adult. Received it very quickly at a low cost.

Uniting Hearts on Prince Edward Island - Gale Finlayson -
"Uniting Hearts on Prince Edward Island"

Published in 1912 this gentle book set in the Edwardian era remains a quiet treasure even a century later, for we discover the same foibles and curious choices of the human heart which are universal to mankind. Some of the twelve tales mention Anne Shirley or our "friends" from the Anne of Green Gables series, even though various PEI villages are featured. Many old love affairs are rekindled, thanks to the return to the island of one of the separated lovers. Orphans find homes; spinsters find husbands; an atheist finds God. Despite her sometimes quaint style and expressions, LMM depicts--in pastel hues of loving tenderness--the cycle of life during simpler times. She plumbs the depths of human interactions with exquisite skill and compassion. The Island Cure offers solace for the soul. This book is defintely for the young at heart of all ages.

lovely avonlea stories - myrtille - athens, gr
some of them are funny, some really romantic, some poignant, some all of these things together. i loved these stories, as anyone else will who loved Anne of Avonlea.

Return to Avonlea - home of Anne of Green Gables - with these delightful short stories - S. Barnes - UK
If you're already an 'Anne of Green Gables' fan, you'll love these short stories. Each one is unique and is about different residents of Avonlea and its' surrounds. Laugh out loud with some - they're every bit as entertaining as the 'Anne' books themselves.

Don't expect to find too much of 'Anne' herself in these stories though. She often gets a mention, but no more than that. These stories are about other residents in Avonlea and are great for giving extra depth and fullness to the novels about Anne. 12 tales in total - I loved them all!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Nov 06, 2010 17:15:07

Children's Books

Saturday, November 6, 2010