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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
This was a nice addition to the Anne of Green Gables audiobook set that we got. I loved the imagined back-story for Marilla and found this to be the most interesting book of all. (I know it's a different author...)
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This wasn't very believable, but it was nonetheless a fun dive into Avonlea before Anne's time. I really enjoyed seeing young Rachel.
I liked this book, though it felt more like a reimaging in some ways than an actual prequel. It was very difficult for me to imagine the Marilla orignally written by L.M. Montgomery as described in this book. Basically, it didn't feel like Marilla, and I felt disconnected from the character at first.
When I started to let go of the image of Marilla I had, however, it was easier for me to imagine how Marilla's actions in the original story might have been due to her own past life expereinces. Such as Marilla being very supportive of Anne's endeavors, especially when it came to her education. Despite Marilla feeling unrecognizable in this book, I liked how the author crafted a story out of small details from the original book, such as Rachel and Marilla's friendship, John Blythe, and Matthew's uncomfortableness around women.
When I started to let go of the image of Marilla I had, however, it was easier for me to imagine how Marilla's actions in the original story might have been due to her own past life expereinces. Such as Marilla being very supportive of Anne's endeavors, especially when it came to her education. Despite Marilla feeling unrecognizable in this book, I liked how the author crafted a story out of small details from the original book, such as Rachel and Marilla's friendship, John Blythe, and Matthew's uncomfortableness around women.
Marilla of Green Gables is a disappointing book. As a Lucy Maud Montgomery fan for more than fifty years, I expected it would be fun to read. Instead I simply became increasingly annoyed by the anachronisms, wrong historical decades and details, and verbal oddities. Why didn’t Sarah McCoy’s editor, readers and friends notice any of these problems?
L. M. Montgomery set her stories in the years of her own life. She was not writing historical fiction and did not need to do any historical research because she was such an astute observer of everything surrounding her and she wrote about what she knew. Sarah McCoy evidently researched Prince Edward Island’s place in the Underground Railroad but did not calculate when Anne Shirley was probably born or research the cultural details of her life. The book ends in 1860 when John Blythe’s wife is pregnant; we assume her child will be Gilbert Blyth. L. M. Montgomery was born in 1874. Since Anne of Green Gables is not historical fiction it is unlikely the fictional Anne was born earlier; she might have been significantly younger than Montgomery. If Marilla were middle-aged –perhaps forty to sixty – when Anne arrived, around 1885, or later, she might have been born around 1825, as McCoy’s Marilla is. However since she lives for quite a while after Anne’s arrival, and the average lifespan was shorter in those days, 1835 or 1845 is more likely. Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908, so Anne might easily be even younger. She is unlikely to have been born in 1860 – fourteen years before her creator.
The language of Marilla of Green Gables is very twenty-first century and so are some of the details. On page 123 Marilia wraps an “extra bannock wedge in wax paper.” Waxed paper was first used in the 1850s, probably by a photographer, and did not become a household product until Roswell Rausch introduced Cut-Rite Waxed Paper to the American kitchen in 1927. On page 273 Marilla wonders if an elixir of ginkgo and bilberry might help her eyes. Ginkgo did not enter western medicine until the 1950s.
At the sewing circle Rachel carries her “sewing circular.” I assumed this was some kind of paper with sewing instructions that had been sent to her, until she sat on it, when I decided it must be an embroidery hoop. But would these girls have had time for embroidery when there was so much practical sewing that need to be done? Also, what kind of Presbyterians make prayers shawls for Catholic orphans? Prayer shawls are usually worn by Jewish men and traditional Presbyterians abhor Catholics.
On page 237 the ladies consider making needlepoint handkerchiefs. Who would want a needlepoint handkerchief? The two dictionaries I consulted, in case my memory was defective, both define needlepoint as a kind of lace made over a pattern on paper, or embroidery done on canvas, which is the kind I have seen – very inappropriate for a handkerchief.
Use of the English language is another problem for McCoy. Split infinitives like “to not wear it” instead of “not to wear it” on page 170, and the inappropriate overuse of the word “issue” are both twenty-first century afflictions. On page 170 Victoria is soon to be “coronated.” Generally a queen is crowned at her coronation. I don’t believe “knapsack,” found on page 175, entered the English language until the late twentieth century. On page 183, as Marilla and John stand on the porch “The sweat of their brows shimmered a-frost in the clear winter’s night.” How does sweat “shimmer a-frost?” Is McCoy trying to be poetic or is English not her native language? Finally, on page 263 we read “The leaves on an apple tree blossom yield and fall.” What is this supposed to mean? Are “blossom”, “yield” and “fall” verbs? Leaves do not blossom. They are always leaves. Leaves do have a role in converting sunlight into sugar but there are a few more steps before the tree produces apples. And, are the apples being left to fall or is it the leaves that go with this verb?
Some of these many infelicities might be forgiven if the book had better character development and a more reasonably presented plot. However, it lacks both.
L. M. Montgomery set her stories in the years of her own life. She was not writing historical fiction and did not need to do any historical research because she was such an astute observer of everything surrounding her and she wrote about what she knew. Sarah McCoy evidently researched Prince Edward Island’s place in the Underground Railroad but did not calculate when Anne Shirley was probably born or research the cultural details of her life. The book ends in 1860 when John Blythe’s wife is pregnant; we assume her child will be Gilbert Blyth. L. M. Montgomery was born in 1874. Since Anne of Green Gables is not historical fiction it is unlikely the fictional Anne was born earlier; she might have been significantly younger than Montgomery. If Marilla were middle-aged –perhaps forty to sixty – when Anne arrived, around 1885, or later, she might have been born around 1825, as McCoy’s Marilla is. However since she lives for quite a while after Anne’s arrival, and the average lifespan was shorter in those days, 1835 or 1845 is more likely. Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908, so Anne might easily be even younger. She is unlikely to have been born in 1860 – fourteen years before her creator.
The language of Marilla of Green Gables is very twenty-first century and so are some of the details. On page 123 Marilia wraps an “extra bannock wedge in wax paper.” Waxed paper was first used in the 1850s, probably by a photographer, and did not become a household product until Roswell Rausch introduced Cut-Rite Waxed Paper to the American kitchen in 1927. On page 273 Marilla wonders if an elixir of ginkgo and bilberry might help her eyes. Ginkgo did not enter western medicine until the 1950s.
At the sewing circle Rachel carries her “sewing circular.” I assumed this was some kind of paper with sewing instructions that had been sent to her, until she sat on it, when I decided it must be an embroidery hoop. But would these girls have had time for embroidery when there was so much practical sewing that need to be done? Also, what kind of Presbyterians make prayers shawls for Catholic orphans? Prayer shawls are usually worn by Jewish men and traditional Presbyterians abhor Catholics.
On page 237 the ladies consider making needlepoint handkerchiefs. Who would want a needlepoint handkerchief? The two dictionaries I consulted, in case my memory was defective, both define needlepoint as a kind of lace made over a pattern on paper, or embroidery done on canvas, which is the kind I have seen – very inappropriate for a handkerchief.
Use of the English language is another problem for McCoy. Split infinitives like “to not wear it” instead of “not to wear it” on page 170, and the inappropriate overuse of the word “issue” are both twenty-first century afflictions. On page 170 Victoria is soon to be “coronated.” Generally a queen is crowned at her coronation. I don’t believe “knapsack,” found on page 175, entered the English language until the late twentieth century. On page 183, as Marilla and John stand on the porch “The sweat of their brows shimmered a-frost in the clear winter’s night.” How does sweat “shimmer a-frost?” Is McCoy trying to be poetic or is English not her native language? Finally, on page 263 we read “The leaves on an apple tree blossom yield and fall.” What is this supposed to mean? Are “blossom”, “yield” and “fall” verbs? Leaves do not blossom. They are always leaves. Leaves do have a role in converting sunlight into sugar but there are a few more steps before the tree produces apples. And, are the apples being left to fall or is it the leaves that go with this verb?
Some of these many infelicities might be forgiven if the book had better character development and a more reasonably presented plot. However, it lacks both.
A very pleasant, if unexceptional read. It was nice to dive back into the world of Green Gables and be immersed in the story of Marilla, but it also wasn't something I was particularly excited to read each night. I think this is mostly because the author tried too hard to turn Marilla's story into an exact copy of Anne's own story. While they had their similarities, as referenced in the Anne stories, I would have found the story more plausible (and the detail less annoying) had the author diverged from this in more ways.
I'm a sucker for Anne of G.G. so I found this to be an enjoyable "prequel". This was a nice light and fluffy story after all the true crime I've been reading.
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A perfect return to our beloved Avonlea! I have always wanted to know more about Marilla and Matthew before Anne’s arrival transformed their lives. This book is so dear and wonderfully entrenched in the spirit of Green Gables. Though this book, we get to see what came before, that made Green Gables into the magical home all of us love coming back to.
The author did a wonderful job of capturing LMM’s voice. Even though I knew how it had to end I wanted it to end differently.