Anne and the family

‘Anne of Ingleside’ – L. M. Montgomery

Anne, now Mrs Doctor Blythe, is still sometimes as impetuous as when she was the girl from Green Gables. But with six lively children and hard-worked Gilbert to look after – not to mention Gilbert’s disapproving aunt, Anne has to be practical too. Especially when the children get into as many scrapes as she ever did! 

I have never thought this cover to be particularly flattering for one of my favourite heroines, making her look far too stern and strict. This is simply not the case in Montgomery’s sixth instalment of the Anne tales.

Similar to previous books, this novel is made up of episodes, detailing the adventures of Anne’s children. Now, Anne is not the centre character to this story, but rather her delightful children, and I enjoyed Montgomery’s new approach, thinking it breathes life into a developed series. The varied stories are all rather quaint and charming, reflecting an “old world” and a different approach to bringing up children. At the centre of this is the desire for imagination and love – the epitome of Anne’s character herself.

I enjoyed this story so much because it felt so varied from the other books and, reading this now as a parent myself, delighted in all of the adventures of Anne’s children. True to form, there are some slow, dialogue-heavy chapters and I think Montgomery did this deliberately to transition to the next part of the story. Whilst some readers may find this off-putting, I think it reminded me why I loved the first book so much to begin with, and why this fandom has remained decades later.

I think the saddest part of the story was actual the closing chapters, whereby Montgomery focuses back on Anne herself. She is not the optimistic, carefree woman who lives happily with Gilbert and her children. Instead, Anne has altered to a rather down-trodden, lonely mother (perhaps more like the cover’s image). Whilst there is a happy conclusion (despite the chilling reference to Walter’s future), I was hoping that the writer would finish on a lighter story, rather than seeing Anne doubt her marriage and Gilbert’s loyalty.

There are two more books left to be had in this series and I do believe I am venturing into unchartered territories! I think I may have read at least the next book before, but as I have zero recollection of the story, I am excited to approach this as a new reader might the first book of the series. It’s my turn to re-discover a new element to this series and I hope it follows the high level of enjoyment as these novels from my childhood.