Book Review: Jane of Lantern Hill

[osprey_archer]

Just finished rereading L. M. Montgomery's Jane of Lantern Hill, which is not a top-tier Montgomery for me, but solidly enjoyable in Jane's escape from her grandmother's stifling Toronto home to the freedom of a summer on Prince Edward Island.

Oh, and also there's a scene where Jane walks an escaped circus lion down the road to shut it in a barn. This was pretty much the only thing I remembered from my first read in 2018 and it is indeed an amazing set piece.

I found this reread a bit painful, though, because I know more about Montgomery's life now, and large parts of this book really feel like a sort of fairy-tale remix of Montgomery's own experiences. Like Jane, Montgomery was mostly raised by a strict grandmother. (Unlike Jane, Montgomery's own mother was dead, which may contribute to the somewhat vague quality of Jane's mother in this book.) Like Jane, Montgomery adored her mostly-absent father and wished that she could live with him always.

Unlike Jane, when Montgomery finally got the chance to live with her father, it went poorly, because she couldn't get along with her new stepfamily. Although Jane fears that her father may supply her with a stepmother, but in the end her long-estranged parents realize that they were only ever kept apart by a misunderstanding, have always loved each other, and will live together on Prince Edward Island henceforth. HAPPY END.

And when Montgomery wrote Jane of Lantern Hill, she was trapped in an unhappy marriage in a suburb of Toronto. It's hard not to feel that she wished she could leave behind her stifling house and rush off to live on Prince Edward Island, too. But although she went back to Prince Edward Island for visits, she never moved back to stay, until she returned to be buried.

Comments

[asakiyume]

Oh wow, poor L.M. Montgomery :( Did she get out of the unhappy marriage, at least?

[ethelmay]

Unfortunately, no. It wasn't a hundred percent her husband's fault - he had severe depression, including delusions of having committed an unforgivable sin, and I think was addicted to some then-OTC medication - but he was pretty awful to live with.

[asakiyume]

Ayyy, that's too bad :( :( :(

Well, I hope she found some joys in life to make up for that....

[osprey_archer]

I've considered reading an LMM biography, but her life overall seems to have been quite sad, so I think in this case it's better just to stick with the books that she wrote. It's impressive that she managed to transmute so much sadness into so much literary joy.

[ethelmay]

I am glad to have read her journals, and there are many happy and often very funny memories in there, but there are certainly some painful parts, especially toward the end.