Book Review: Anne of Ingleside

[osprey_archer]

The one drawback of reading all of L. M. Montgomery’s books in publication order was that, in my memory, the last book Anne of Ingleside is pretty dire. So I picked it up with an inward moan, but in fact (perhaps this is a case of suitably lowered expectations?) it’s not nearly as bad as I remembered.

What it is, on the whole, is inessential. These feel like the sort of stories that a modern author might share on Patreon, cute little tales about the characters that don’t change your understanding of them or their world in any way, but might satisfy your need just to stay in that world a little while longer.

They’re pleasant enough tales of the hijinks and youthful mishaps of Anne’s children, mostly, enjoyable enough to read and eminently forgettable thereafter. Except the one where six-year-old Walter walks home alone at night because he’s realized he’s been sent away because Mother is sick, and he’s convinced she’ll die before he returns. That one perhaps has a little more heft than the others.

And I did remember the Anne stories that bookend the book, which is probably responsible for my remembered low opinion. The beginning of the book features Anne and Diana spending a lovely day together, which would be delightful except that the narrative keeps insistently reminding us that Diana is FAT. Now, Diana has always been a plump girl, and if the book mentioned it and moved on as the earlier Anne books do that would be one thing, but it comes up again… and again… and again… It comes to seem so mean-spirited. Just let Anne and Diana enjoy their ramble in the woods in peace!

Then at the end of the book, Anne suddenly becomes convinced that Gilbert no longer loves her! Why? No reason. No, literally, there is no reason. She’s just out of sorts with life, that’s all. Eventually she realizes her folly and then she and Gilbert are off to a medical conference in Scotland, HOORAY, but first we have to bushwhack through a few chapters of pointless jealousy.

And, I mean, sure, people do get these notions into their heads sometimes. I can’t argue that it’s unrealistic. But I don’t read L. M. Montgomery for her stone-cold realism! I read her so that the characters and I can saunter together down the White Way of Delight!

***

And that concludes the L. M. Montgomery readthrough! Which of course means that it is time for me to tackle some other reading plans.

1. First, I’m going to complete the Jane Austen reread that I started... back in 2022 or so... okay, so it’s been on hiatus a bit, but it is halfway done. Next up is Mansfield Park.

2. Then I intend to get around to the Newbery books of 2024, which I have disgracefully neglected thus far this year.

(2.a. Yes, indeed, I am still working on the Newbery project! It’s whirring slowly away in the background. I have seventeen books left to go in the 1930s, which means that at the current rate I’ll probably finish it... sometime in 2026. Good grief.)

3. Then John Le Carre’s Smiley books! I’m not sure how this will go, to be honest; I may end up deciding that I need long breaks between books, as Le Carre can be so bleak. But I’m looking forward to it all the same. There’s just nothing like a Cold War spy novel, you know?

Comments

[philomytha]

Anne of Ingleside is one where I know I've read it, probably more than once, but I can't remember anything about it apart from, as you say, the one with Walter distraught because Anne is sick.

And I will have to take your recommendations on Smiley, I know I've read numerous of them but I have such a hard time with Le Carre, I never have a clue what's going on even though I enjoy reading them.

[osprey_archer]

I read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in high school and retain vivid memories of certain parts, but I had no clue what was going on at any point in the book. I'm hoping that now that I'm older it will make more sense, but maybe not. We'll see.

[landofnowhere]

I picked up *Anne of Ingleside* recently and then put it back down because of the weight talk. It’s good to know that the book is mostly inoffensive!

[osprey_archer]

She really fixates on that in the first chapter and it's so unpleasant. Just let them ramble and relive their girlhood!

[sovay]

What it is, on the whole, is inessential.

I have no memories of Anne of Ingleside and I can't tell if this is because it is inessential or I just didn't read it. I have vivid memories of Rilla of Ingleside, which I much preferred to any of the series after Anne of Green Gables itself: I hit it at an age where it seemed completely normal to have BOOM WORLD WAR I NOVEL in the middle of the otherwise pastoral, low-stakes family saga.

[osprey_archer]

Rilla of Ingleside is such a startling contrast to the other books, in a way that works really well to highlight how unexpected and upsetting the war was. As a child I (and perhaps a lot of other people) had the vague feeling that In the Past people just expected wars and such, and the SUDDENLY WAR of Rilla brings home that it was as shocking to them as it would be to us.

[msilverstar]

Mansfield Park -- I bounced off the video version of that but might enjoy reading it.

[osprey_archer]

The movie versions that I'm familiar with are all quite different than the book, so you might well like the book better than the movie.