Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories is the last of eight collections of L.M. Montgomery’s rediscovered short stories edited and introduced by Rea Wilmshurst. It contains excerpts from Montgomery’s novels Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Windy Poplars as well as fourteen short stories that were originally published in periodicals between 1899 and 1910. The book was preceded by Akin to Anne: Tales of Other Orphans (1988), Along the Shore: Tales by the Sea (1989), Among the Shadows: Tales from the Darker Side (1990), After Many Days: Tales of Time Passed (1991), Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement, At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales, and Across the Miles: Tales of Correspondence (1995). It was published as a jacketed hardcover by McClelland and Stewart in October 1995, with a trade paperback appearing in August 2002.
From the Back Cover
Sixteen stories from Canada’s best-loved author, Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Christmas and New Year’s is a season of celebration and reflection, of taking stock of the months gone by and looking forward to the year to come. Above all it is an occasion to remember the values and concerns of a past that seems increasingly distant—except when that world is brought to life once more in the stories of L.M. Montgomery.
The Anne stories in this collection—from Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Windy Poplars—are old favourites, but joining them are tales that are new to this generation of Montgomery fans. Written around the turn of the century, they have never before been published in book form.
From the Dust Jacket
In L.M. Montgomery’s day, as now, Christmas and New Year’s was a time for family reunions, old traditions, eagerly awaited gifts, and plenty of good food. But these stories emphasize the place of simple human kindness in this holiday, and celebrate Montgomery’s favourite and enduring virtues of self-reliance and plain dealing.
In many of these tales, Montgomery looks at the darker side of the holiday season, when the plight of the poor or lonely meets a bitter contrast in the gaiety and comfort of neighbours. It is this combination of shadow and sunshine, of sadness and happiness, that gives Montgomery’s writing its power to wring both tears and smiles from us and turns her readers into devoted fans who read her stories and novels over and over again.
Contents
Introduction (vii–x)
Matthew Insists on Puffed Sleeves (1–16)
Christmas at Red Butte (17–29)
The End of the Young Family Feud (31–43)
Aunt Cyrilla’s Christmas Basket (45–59)
The Osbornes’ Christmas (61–67)
The Unforgotten One (69–78)
Clorinda’s Gifts (79–87)
Katherine Brooke Comes to Green Gables (89–121)
A Christmas Mistake (123–35)
The Christmas Surprise at Enderly Road (137–45)
The Falsoms’ Christmas Dinner (147–59)
A Christmas Inspiration (161–70)
The Josephs’ Christmas (171–80)
Uncle Richard’s New Year’s Dinner (181–87)
Ida’s New Year Cake (189–98)
Bertie’s New Year (199–211)
Editorial Note (212–13)
Other Books by L.M. Montgomery (213–14)
Reviews
Reviews by Sylvia Bryce, A. Edwardsson, Diana Halfpenny, Carolyn Phelan, and E. Jane Philipps.
Metadata
Editor: Rea Wilmshurst
Paratexts: Introduction by Rea Wilmshurst
Publisher: McClelland and Stewart
Date: 1995
Format: Jacketed hardcover
Pagination: x + 214 pp.
ISBN: 978-0771061998