Announcing a restored and annotated edition of Rilla of Ingleside, which will be published by Viking Canada in October 2010.
I’m pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of a new, restored edition of L.M. Montgomery’s First World War novel Rilla of Ingleside, edited by me and Andrea McKenzie, which will be published by Viking Canada (an imprint of Penguin Canada) in October 2010. The edition will consist of the unabridged text of the original 1921 edition, supplemented by an introduction, maps of Europe, bonus content by L.M. Montgomery and Virna Sheard, a glossary, and suggestions for further reading.
The publication of this edition of Rilla of Ingleside will coincide with the release of the paperback edition of The Blythes Are Quoted by Penguin Canada.
For more information, see the entry for this edition of Rilla of Ingleside.
Synopsis
In my latest story, “Rilla of Ingleside,” I have tried, as far as in me lies, to depict the fine and splendid way in which the girls of Canada reacted to the Great War—their bravery, patience and self-sacrifice. The book is theirs in a sense in which none of my other books have been: for my other books were written for anyone who might like to read them: but “Rilla” was written for the girls of the great young land I love, whose destiny it will be their duty and privilege to shape and share.
L.M. Montgomery, from “How I Became a Writer,” 1921
First published in 1921, Rilla of Ingleside—originally written as the final sequel to Anne of Green Gables—is one of the only contemporary depictions in Canadian fiction of women on the home front during the First World War. Focusing on Rilla Blythe, the pretty and high-spirited youngest daughter of Anne Shirley, the novel paints a vivid and compelling picture of the women who battled to keep the home fires burning throughout those tumultuous years. Using her own wartime experience and imagination, Montgomery recreates the laughter and grief, poignancy and suspense, struggles and courage of Canadian women at war.
This special gift edition includes Montgomery’s complete, restored, and unabridged original text as well as a thoughtful introduction from the editors, a detailed glossary, maps of Europe during the war, and war poems by L.M. Montgomery and her contemporary Virna Sheard.
Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island, in 1874. She published twenty novels and over a thousand short stories, essays, and poems, but is best known for Anne of Green Gables (1908) and its sequels: Anne of Avonlea (1909), Anne of the Island (1915), Anne of Windy Poplars (1936), Anne’s House of Dreams (1917), Anne of Ingleside (1939), Rainbow Valley (1919), Rilla of Ingleside (1921), and The Blythes Are Quoted (2009). Since her death in 1942, she has been widely recognized as a writer of national significance in Canada, and her work continues to fascinate readers all over the world.
Benjamin Lefebvre, Ph.D., is editor of Montgomery’s rediscovered final book, The Blythes Are Quoted, and director of the L.M. Montgomery Research Group. Most recently he co-edited a collection of essays, Anne’s World: A New Century of Anne of Green Gables. He has published widely on Montgomery’s fiction and life writing.
Andrea McKenzie, Ph.D., is a director of writing at New York University. Educated at the University of Waterloo, she focuses on personal narratives of the First World War, including L.M. Montgomery’s journals and fiction. She also explores the cultural and historical significance of illustrations and images in relation to Montgomery’s work.
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