Our Uncle Wheeler is a short story by L.M. Montgomery published in Golden Days for Boys and Girls, a Philadelphia periodical, in January 1898. It was reprinted twice in Philadelphia Inquirer (in 1913 and in 1925), likely without Montgomery’s knowledge or permission. It appears in a Broadview edition of Anne of Green Gables edited by Cecily Devereux and in Twice upon a Time: Selected Stories, 1898–1939.
Synopsis: Due to a game of musical chairs involving the spare-room bed and an unexpected visitor in the form of a gruff great-uncle, teenage brothers Rod and Art are horrified when they unwittingly pounce on a sleeping Uncle Wheeler. Scared of their uncle’s wrath, they initially attempt to let their mother blame their friends for the escapade, but once their consciences start bother them they have a difficult ethical decision to make.
Characters: Art, Rod, Uncle James Wheeler, (father), Amelia June Millar (mother), Sydney Hatfield (cousin), Lou Winsloe, Rod Winsloe, (Dave Winsloe), Tad, (Henry Winsloe).
Locations: Primary location undeclared; Bracebridge (secondary location).
Trivia: According to handwritten annotations alongside a copy of this publication in one of her scrapbooks, Montgomery wrote this story in September 1897.
Bibliography
Montgomery, L.M. “Our Uncle Wheeler.” Golden Days for Boys and Girls (Philadelphia), 22 January 1898, 145–46.
Also, unsigned, in Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 December 1913, Our Boys and Girls section, 1, 6.
Also in Philadelphia Inquirer, 12 April 1925, Our Boys and Girls section, 5, 7.
Also in Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery, edited by Cecily Devereux, 335–44. Peterborough: Broadview Editions, 2004.
Also in Twice upon a Time: Selected Stories, 1898–1939, 3–12.