The Story Girl is L.M. Montgomery’s fourth book, first published in May 1911 by Boston publisher L.C. Page and Company. The book focuses on eight merry children who spend an enchanted summer in Carlisle, Prince Edward Island, a group led by Sara Stanley, the title protagonist, who is renowned for her gifts in oral storytelling. It was preceded by Kilmeny of the Orchard (1910) and followed by Chronicles of Avonlea (1912), and the characters return in its sequel, The Golden Road (1913).
This book formed part of the basis for the popular television series Road to Avonlea (1990–1996), as did Chronicles of Avonlea, The Golden Road, and Further Chronicles of Avonlea.
Epigraph
“She was a form of life and light
That seen, became a part of sight,
And rose, where’ver I turn’d mine eye,
The morning-star of Memory!”
—Byron.
Dedication
To
my cousin
Frederica E. Campbell
in remembrance of old days, old dreams,
and old laughter
Contents
I. The Home of Our Fathers
II. A Queen of Hearts
III. Legends of the Old Orchard
IV. The Wedding Veil of the Proud Princess
V. Peter Goes to Church
VI. The Mystery of Golden Milestone
VII. How Betty Sherman Won a Husband
VIII. A Tragedy of Childhood
IX. Magic Seed
X. A Daughter of Eve
XI. The Story Girl Does Penance
XII. The Blue Chest of Rachel Ward
XIII. An Old Proverb with a New Meaning
XIV. Forbidden Fruit
XV. A Disobedient Brother
XVI. The Ghostly Bell
XVII. The Proof of the Pudding
XVIII. How Kissing Was Discovered
XIX. A Dread Prophecy
XX. The Judgment Sunday
XXI. Dreamers of Dreams
XXII. The Dream Books
XXIII. Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On
XXIV. The Bewitchment of Pat
XXV. A Cup of Failure
XXVI. Peter Makes an Impression
XXVII. The Ordeal of Bitter Apples
XXVIII. The Tale of the Rainbow Bridge
XXIX. The Shadow Feared of Man
XXX. A Compound Letter
XXXI. On the Edge of Light and Dark
XXXII. The Opening of the Blue Chest
The Story Girl (53)
Boston Globe, 27 May 1911, 11 (“Very Engaging Novel”).
Christian Science Monitor (Boston), 29 May 1911, 5.
Sun (New York), 3 June 1911, 7. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 93 (as “[Attractive Children]”).
Boston Evening Transcript, 6 June 1911, 22.
Kansas City (MO) Star, 7 June 1911, 8.
The Bookseller, Newsdealer and Stationer (New York), 15 June 1911, 465. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 93 (as “[An Intuitive Knowledge of Child Nature]”).
The Athenaeum (London), 17 June 1911, 690.
Boston Herald, 17 June 1911, 4. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 94–95 (as “[Romance, Vitality, and Barbarian Instinct]”).
Times-Dispatch (Richmond, VA), 18 June 1911, 12.
Indianapolis Star, 25 June 1911, 12.
Oakland Tribune, 25 June 1911, 10 (Mollie E. Conners).
The Scotsman (Edinburgh), 29 June 1911, 2. Scrapbook of Reviews, 17. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 95 (as “[A Remarkably Vivid Little Personality]”).
Chicago Record-Herald, [June 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 5. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 95–96 (as “[The Far, Fair Land of Youth]”).
New York World, [June 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 6 (“Sara, a Teller of Tales”).
Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph, [June 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 5. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 96 (as “[A Magnetic Personality]”).
The Independent (New York), 6 July 1911, 46.
Globe (Toronto), 8 July 1911, 16. Scrapbook of Reviews, 12. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 97 (as “[The Tender Sweetness of Childhood]”).
The Christian Advocate (New York), 13 July 1911, 945. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 98 (as “[A Far-Off Golden Age]”).
Register (Adelaide, Australia), 15 July 1911, 4 (“Charming Children”). The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 98–99.
Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City), 16 July 1911, 34 (“Visiting the Old Home”).
Montrose Standard (UK), [July 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 29.
The Young Woman (London), August 1911 (“Arcadia”). Scrapbook of Reviews, 29–30. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 99–101.
The Nation (New York), 10 August 1911, 122. Children’s Literature Review, edited by Gerard J. Senick (Detroit: Gale, 1985), 8: 135–36. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 101–2 (as “[A Group of Merry Children]”).
Springfield (MA) Union, 20 August 1911, C5 (“Childhood Days”). Scrapbook of Reviews, 14–15. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 102–3.
ALA Booklist (Chicago), September 1911, 38.
The Bookman (London), September 1911, 264–65.
The Defender (Boston), September 1911, 25–26.
Feilding Star (New Zealand), 2 September 1911, Supplement, 6 (“‘The Story Girl,’ by the Creator of Kilmeny”). The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 103–4 (as “The Story Girl, by the Creator of Kilmeny”).
The Outlook (New York), 2 September 1911, 46–47. Scrapbook of Reviews, 16. Children’s Literature Review, edited by Gerard J. Senick (Detroit: Gale, 1985), 8: 136 (excerpted). The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 104 (as “[Capital Reading]”).
San Francisco Call, 10 September 1911, Book Page.
New York Observer, 21 September 1911, 373.
Montreal Daily Star, [September 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 9. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 104–5 (as “[A Far More Finished and Subtle Art]”).
Westminster Gazette (London), [September 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 8. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 105–6 (as “[The Essence of Girlhood and Boyhood]”).
The Catholic World (New York), October 1911, 116. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 106 (as “[A Story of Children for Grown-Ups]”).
Evansville (IN) Courier, 4 October 1911, 3.
Grand Rapids (MI) Press, 11 October 1911, 7.
Vogue (New York), 15 October 1911, 102. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 106–7 (as “[Simple Realism]”).
The Canadian Magazine (Toronto), November 1911, 92. Scrapbook of Reviews, 5. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 107–8 (as “[An Entertainment for the Young]”).
The Christian Work and the Evangelist (New York), 11 November 1911, 636. Scrapbook of Reviews, 3. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 108 (as “[Simple Life in a Fascinating Land]”).
Dallas Morning News, 11 December 1911, 5. Scrapbook of Reviews, 3. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 108–9 (as “[The Gift of Telling a Story]”).
Lexington (KY) Herald, 24 December 1911, 2. Scrapbook of Reviews, 2. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 109 (as “[Vivid and Real Children]”).
The Publishers’ Weekly (New York), 25 November 1911, 179.
Cedar Rapids (IA) Evening Gazette, 19 December 1911, 8.
Alloa Journal (UK), [1911] (“An Ideal Christmas Gift-Book”). Scrapbook of Reviews, 24.
The Book News Monthly (Philadelphia), [ca. 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 15.
Republic (Boston), [ca. 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 13. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 110–11 (as “[A Dangerous Rival for Anne]”).
Simmons Magazine (New York), [ca. 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 6–7.
Southport Guardian (UK), [ca. 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 15. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 111–12 (as “[An Irresistible Appeal]”).
New York Herald, [ca. 1911]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 15. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 112–13 (as “[A Story of Simple Sweetness]”).
National Magazine (Boston), January 1912, 711.
Washington (DC) Herald, 21 January 1912, 8.
Christian Register (Boston), 15 February 1912, 159.
Pittsburgh Post, [ca. 1912]. Scrapbook of Reviews, 36.
Published on 2 August 2008; last updated on 30 March 2024. Please contact the site owner with additions, corrections, questions, and suggestions.