L.M. Montgomery’s books received extensive coverage in The Spectator—whose reviewer advised her not to write a second book about Anne.
Contents
Preamble
Reviews of Anne of Green Gables in the UK
The Spectator
Review of Anne of Avonlea
Ads and Reviews, 1909–1915
Anne’s House of Dreams: Ads and Reviews
Rilla of Ingleside and Beyond
Bibliography
Image Credit
Preamble
In a letter to Ephraim Weber dated 10 September 1908, L.M. Montgomery recorded her surprise not only about the unexpectedly high sales of Anne of Green Gables but also about the fact that she’d already received sixty reviews: “two were harsh, one contemptuous, two mixed praise and blame and the remaining fifty-five were kind and flattering beyond my highest expectations” (GGL, 71). Volume 3 of The L.M. Montgomery Reader, which reprints hundreds of reviews of all of Montgomery’s books, bears this out. Reviews of Anne of Green Gables—from periodicals such as the Globe (Toronto), The Living Age (New York), The Book News Monthly (Philadelphia) and The National Magazine (Boston)—are full of praise for Montgomery’s characters, story, and writing style. And her remaining books received equally positive responses from periodicals located all over the world.
In January 1909, an English edition of Anne of Green Gables appeared from the house of Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons (London). This meant a new batch of reviews, along with ads and notices, in a wide range of UK periodicals. An ad in the Daily Telegraph of 15 January 1909 boasted that the book had already sold sixty thousand copies in the United States (4), and a similar ad in the London Times the following week stated that “a big demand for [Anne of Green Gables] is anticipated in this country” (22).
By mid-February, the Boston Herald reported that Montgomery’s novel “is winning as many lovers in England as in the land of her birth,” judging by the equally high sales there: “Miss L.M. Montgomery’s fascinating story has already attained its third edition. The English critics have welcomed the novel with an enthusiasm fully equal to that shown by reviewers in this country” (6).
Reviews of Anne of Green Gables in the UK
The following three reviews from periodicals located in London zeroed in on several key reasons why readers continue to read this book today.
The Bookseller:
Across the Atlantic this very remarkable portrait study of a young American girl seems to have aroused exceptional attention, and the book is enjoying a very remarkable sale. Anne is intended, one gather from the quotation on the title page, to illustrate a girl of rather unusual endowments. She can, indeed, quite believe that, to slightly alter Browning’s lines, “The good stars met in her horoscope, Made her of spirit and fire and dew.” Anne was a girl from an orphan asylum, who came to be adopted without their intending it, by a Nova Scotia farmer and his wife. [She] had a wonderful imagination, a very attractive personality, and the reader is at once interested in her and in her history. She is certainly a very original conception, very skilfully worked out, and she is sure to make as many friends in England as she has in America. It is a book to be read, and when read will not be very soon forgotten. (230)
The Daily Telegraph:
It is a simple tale of homely life in a homely village; Anne goes to school, makes a girl friend and a boy enemy, is the life and light of her adopted home, and finally settles down as a schoolmistress with the boy enemy as a prospective husband. But though the story is tranquil, and concerned with little things, trivial details, we are entranced, lifted out of our surroundings and live in these bright, human pages….
We heartily recommend this book to old and young, feeling sure that they will revel in it, and recognise in it a piece of work which is quite uncommonly good, as well as thoroughly interesting from the first page to the last. (12)
The World:
It is given to very few writers to be able to tell so simple a tale as this history of the imaginative, precocious, but wholly lovable little Anne in such a thoroughly human and entrancing fashion. It is a book full of laughter and tears, and one ventures to say that it is destined to live as long as ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Little Women’ and one or two other delightful studies of girlhood.… A book that no one will read and fail to recommend to others. Its charm is of a nature that will endure. It is better to have written one such book as this than to have produced a dozen novels of the ordinary type. (Quoted in The Bookman, “A Selection of Newly Published Books from Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons’ Spring List,” 21)
Among the English reviews that she highlighted in her journals and her surviving correspondence were from The Spectator, a London weekly that she saw as “the biggest of all the ‘big’ literary reviews,” as she noted in a journal entry dated 11 April 1909, and so in her view, “praise or blame from it carries tremendous weight” (CJLMM, 2: 220).
The Spectator
When I was putting together volume 3 of The L.M. Montgomery Reader, I included two from The Spectator that I’d found by that point. These included a review of Anne of the Island that basically consists of a précis of the novel—“Lovers of Anne will be delighted at her reappearance; this book tells of her college life, and of her engagement to Gilbert Blythe” (“Anne of the Island,” 169)—and a much longer review of Anne of Green Gables, which ends as follows:
Miss Montgomery has given us a most enjoyable and delightful book, which, when allowance is made for altered conditions, is in direct lineal descent from the works of Miss Alcott. It needed considerable restraint on her part to leave off where she did without developing the romantic interest hinted at in the last chapter, but the result is so excellent that we trust she will refrain from running the greater risk of writing a sequel. Having sown her wild oats, “the Anne-girl” could never be so attractive as the little witch, half imp, half angel, whose mental and spiritual growth is vividly set forth in these genial pages. (“Anne of Green Gables,” 66)
Montgomery clearly felt uneasy by The Spectator review’s confidence that she’d never attempt to write a sequel, because by this point Anne of Avonlea was already in press. As she mentioned in a letter to Weber just as that second book appeared, “When it sees I’ve disregarded its advice I expect it will justify my warning by ‘slating’ my new book. But I’d rather be abused by the Spectator than ignored,—or even praised by many inferior sheets” (GGL, 93).
At the time, the evidence I had before me suggested that the conversation had gone no further. But recently, I came across several more reviews of Montgomery’s books that appeared in The Spectator. While its reviews of Montgomery’s subsequent books didn’t receive the same amount of column space as the first one did, it’s important to remember that even a short notice in a periodical of this calibre would mean a lot in terms of publicity and sales—especially if it pointed out how high sales had been already.
Review of Anne of Avonlea
Although its reviews are unsigned and include frequent references to the royal we, as was common during this time period, The Spectator’s review of Anne of Avonlea, published in the 11 December 1909 issue, mentioned its earlier warning right away, suggesting that these two reviews were written by the same person.
In reviewing Anne of Green Gables we expressed the hope that the author would resist the temptation to write a sequel to that delightful story. We had no great confidence that such a counsel of perfection would be followed, and though not altogether convinced that the author has been justified in disregarding it, we are quite ready to acquiesce in her decision in view of the excellence of the entertainment she has set before us. Anne of Avonlea is not as good as Anne of Green Gables, but it is a most genial, fresh, and wholesome book. We miss Matthew, the old farmer, but his sister Marilla remains to shed the dry light of her common-sense on Anne’s misty idealism. Marilla, however, is greatly mellowed by advancing years, and Anne herself, though still capable in moments of expansion of impulsive and indiscreet acts, has lost a good deal of her quicksilverishness and volubility.
The volume before us is chiefly concerned with her experiences as a young “school marm.” The difficulty of her position is that her scholars know her too well, and that some of them have actually been her fellow-pupils. Hence, given her romantic disposition and a certain leaven of mischief amongst her small charges, her path as an instructor of village youth is by no means one of monotonous smoothness. Anne starts with a strong theoretic antipathy to corporal punishment, but the force of circumstances is too strong for her, and she is driven, sorely against the grain, to chastise, with surprisingly beneficial results, the chief rebel against her authority. In the long run, not without many disappointments, Anne establishes her sovereignty on a firm basis of mutual goodwill, and even affection. But the lighter side of school-keeping is not overlooked, as may be gathered from Anne’s letter to one of her College chums:— [A long quotation from the book appears here.]
But Anne is not altogether swallowed up in her school. She has time to start and “run” an Avonlea Improvement Society, to attend picnics, and generally take an active part in humanising her neighbours, notably the eccentric Mr. Harrison, a farmer who deserted his wife because she “regulated” him too severely and objected to the language of his parrot. Anne’s own love story is only foreshadowed in the last pages of the book; but there is no lack of sentimental interest in the story of Stephen Irving and Miss Lavendar of Echo Lodge, whose reunion in middle age is described in a style indicated by the name and residence of the heroine. Here Miss Montgomery is only agreeably derivative. We like her best when she is drawing from the life she knows so well, and sets her homely characters against the background of the enchanting summer landscape of Prince Edward Island. Once more we part from Anne with sincere regret. She is a very human idealist, not above resorting to “beautifying messes” to cure her freckles, or exempt from the temptation to answer fools sharply; but none the less, in the happy phrase of her biographer, she is “one of the children of light by birthright. After she had passed through a life with a smile or a word thrown across it like a gleam of sunshine, the owner of that life saw it, for the time being at least, as hopeful and lovely and of good report.” (1002)
Ads and Reviews, 1909–1915
Detail from an ad for Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons appear in The Spectator (London), 26 November 1910, 932. Courtesy of the Internet Archive.
In addition to reviews, The Spectator published several ads for Montgomery’s books that often included sales figures or praise quotes from reviews published elsewhere. n ad appearing in the 27 November 1909 issue, for instance, boasted that “over 100,000 copies” of Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea had been sold “in less than a twelvemonth” (901). Seven months later, that figure had apparently doubled: Ahead of the UK release of Kilmeny of the Orchard on 7 July 1910, an ad in the 4 June issue ofThe Spectator boasted that “over 200,000 copies of the English-speaking editions of [Montgomery’s first] two books have been sold since first published” (949)—twice the figure that what had been reported the preceding November.
But the paper commented only briefly—and somewhat ambiguously—on this book: “What did the son of Croesus do when his father’s life was in danger? That is the story of Kilmeny, and well told, too” (470).
Its review of The Story Girl was just as brief, although the praise comes through more clearly: “A pleasantly fanciful picture of young life in which the chief figure is a great actress of the future” (424). And although the newspaper evidently did not care for that book’s sequel, The Golden Road—“Miss Montgomery’s chronicles of a family of children are rather too thin and gentle to hold the attention of the average reader” (617)—it evidently still felt the need to make room for this evaluation.
Chronicles of Avonlea, not published as an Anne book per se but one that featured Anne, received more detailed as well as more positive coverage in this newspaper:
It is pleasant to read another book in which Anne of Green Gables makes even a small appearance, and in some of these short sketches of Transatlantic life she appears, though only as a looker-on. Though in the main these stories are exceedin[g]ly entertaining, it must be confessed that those in a lighter vein are more entirely satisfactory than those which are sentimental. “The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham’s,” in which an inveterate misogynist and an inveterate man-hater are shut up together in a house for fear of smallpox, is extremely amusing, and the reader will foresee from the beginning the inevitable end of the story. “Pa Sloane’s Purchase” is also delightful, and the whole book, if slight, is eminently readable. (908)
Anne’s House of Dreams: Ads and Reviews
Although the Spectator’s reviewer had evidently not had much to say about Anne of the Island, a greater amount of coverage appeared in its pages for Anne’s House of Dreams, which had been published in the UK in early 1918. Consider, first of all, its review of this new book, published in the 6 April 1918 issue:
There are few themes more difficult to handle than the first years of married life, and the difficulty is certainly not lessened when the recital is in the form of a sequel and is highly charged with sentiment. Those who read and enjoyed Anne of Green Gables may therefore approach the continuation of that charming romance with some slight misgiving. But Miss Montgomery has evaded most, if not quite all, of the pitfalls that beset her path. The scene is changed, and though Anne’s new home on the shores of Four Winds Harbour is its focus, her new friends and neighbours, rather than herself and her husband, are the leading characters. Foremost among these is Captain Jim, the keeper of the lighthouse on Four Winds Point, a splendid old sailor, a great teller of stories, and in every respect one of Nature’s gentlemen. We have spoken of Miss Montgomery’s recital as being charged with sentiment, but it is lightened and corrected by her humour and command of racy dialogue. Captain Jim’s talk illustrates this dualism at every turn. . . . Hardly less attractive, and even more incisive, is Miss Cornelia Bryant, who was born “with a sort of chronic spite agin men and Methodists,” and had “the bitterest tongue and the kindest heart in Four Winds.” Her obiter dicta are a constant joy, as when she says that “Doctor Dave hadn’t much tact. He was always talking of ropes in houses where some one had hanged himself,” or describes the first sermon of that “reverend jackass,” her own Presbyterian minister. The third of the trio of Anne’s new intimates, Leslie Moore, is the most picturesque, but the least convincing, portrait. Miss Montgomery cannot altogether be acquitted of agony-piling in her account of Leslie’s misfortunes, though she makes ample redress in the long run. For the rest, the story gives one a charming picture of the homely side of life in Prince Edward’s Island, as well as of the glories of its seascape. And incidentally it furnishes a strong confirmation of Mr. Stephen Leacock’s view, expressed in one of his essays, that Canadian literature, like Canadian journalism, education, and culture approximates more nearly to the type and standard of the United States than to those of Great Britain. Miss Montgomery reminds one far more of Miss Alcott, Miss Wilkins, and Kate Douglas Wiggin than of any English writers; though in saying this we intend no disparagement—rather the reverse. The note is different, but the results are refreshing and delightful. (376)
An ad in the 27 April 1918 issue promises that “Anne, in her house of Dreams, will delight readers already acquainted with ‘Anne of Green Gables,’ and others in search of a charming story,” and it includes a praise quote from the British Weekly: “This is the hour for sunshiny books, and I can heartily recommend ‘Anne’s House of Dreams,’ by L.M. Montgomery, the author of that well-known book, ‘Anne of Green Gables’” (“Constable & Co.’s New Books,” 454).
And in the 8 June 1918 issue, another ad announced that Anne’s House of Dreams had already gone into a second printing and included two praise quotes from two recent reviews:
“One of the best novels we have recently read.” —Field.
“We like her gift of intimacy, and the friends with which she fills her house of dreams. There is about them something of the flavour and the fragrance which we have always thought of as belonging to New England characters.” —Saturday Review
Rilla of Ingleside and Beyond
After this review of Anne’s House of Dreams, The Spectator didn’t bother reviewing The Watchman and Other Poems or Rainbow Valley when those books listed The Watchman and Other Poems and Rainbow Valley in its “New and Forthcoming Publications” column (8 May 1920, 626; 22 May 1920, 699) and included a short review of Rilla of Ingleside: “Those who became enamoured of ‘Anne’ in her Green Gables days and kept company with her in her House of Dreams will be glad to meet her again and to follow the fortunes of her daughter Rilla—in War time and after” (901). The reviewer could well have drawn attention to the fact that, in Rilla of Ingleside, Walter Blythe submits his poem “The Piper” to The Spectator (RI, 226–27).
The Spectator’s coverage of Montgomery’s books appears to end at this point. Whether this is due to a change in the newspaper’s staff or decreased interest in the books that followed after the apparent conclusion of the Anne series is impossible to say, but the fact that this paper’s appreciation of Montgomery’s work for so long says quite a bit about its quality, its potential for readerly engagement, and its appeal to readers overseas.
Bibliography
Items Published in The Spectator (London)
Ad for Constable and Co. 8 June 1918, 605. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1918-06-08_120_4693/page/604/.
Ad for Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons. 27 November 1909, 901. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1909-11-27_103_4248/page/900/.
Ad for Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons. 4 June 1910, 949. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1910-06-04_104_4275/page/948/.
“Constable & Co.’s New Books.” 27 April 1918, 454. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1918-04-27_120_4687/page/454/.
“New and Forthcoming Publications.” 8 May 1920, 626. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1920-05-08_124_4793/page/626/.
“New and Forthcoming Publications.” 22 May 1920, 699. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1920-05-22_124_4795/page/698/.
Review of Anne of Avonlea, by L.M. Montgomery. 11 December 1909, 1002. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1909-12-11_103_4250/page/1002/.
Review of Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery. 13 March 1909, 426–27. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1909-03-13_102_4211/page/426/.
Review of Anne of the Island, by L.M. Montgomery. 4 December 1915, 796. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1915-12-04_115_4562/page/796/.
Review of Anne’s House of Dreams, by L.M. Montgomery. 6 April 1918, 376. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1918-04-06_120_4684/page/376/.
Review of Chronicles of Avonlea, by L.M. Montgomery. 30 November 1912, 908. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1912-11-30_109_4405/page/908/.
Review of Kilmeny of the Orchard, by L.M. Montgomery. 24 September 1910, 470. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1910-09-24_105_4291/page/470/.
Review of Rilla of Ingleside, by L.M. Montgomery. 31 December 1921, 901. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1921-12-31_127_4879/page/900/.
Review of The Golden Road, by L.M. Montgomery. 11 April 1914, 617. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1914-04-11_112_4476/page/616/.
Review of The Story Girl, by L.M. Montgomery. 16 September 1911, 424. https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1911-09-16_107_4342/page/424/.
Items Published Elsewhere
“Anne of Green Gables.” In Lefebvre, The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 51–68.
“Anne of the Island.” In Lefebvre, The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 155–71.
“Anne’s House of Dreams.” In Lefebvre, The L.M. Montgomery Reader, 3: 180–99.
The Bookman (London). “A Selection of Newly Published Books from Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons’ Spring List.” Spring 1909, 21.
The Bookseller (London). “From Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons.” 12 February 1909, 230.
Boston Herald. “Mid-Week Book Notes.” 17 February 1909, 6.
Daily Telegraph (London). Ad for Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery. 15 January 1909, 4.
Daily Telegraph (London). Review of Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery. 22 January 1909, 12.
Lefebvre, Benjamin, ed. The L.M. Montgomery Reader, Volume 3: A Legacy in Review. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015.
Montgomery, L.M. The Complete Journals of L.M. Montgomery: The PEI Years, 1901–1911. Edited by Mary Henley Rubio and Elizabeth Hillman Waterston. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2013.
—. The Green Gables Letters from L.M. Montgomery to Ephraim Weber, 1905–1909. Edited by Wilfrid Eggleston. Toronto: The Ryerson Press, 1960.
—. Rilla of Ingleside. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1921.
Times (London). Ad for Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons. 22 January 1909, 22.
Image Credit
Graphic by Benjamin Lefebvre featuring a part of an ad for Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons that appeared in the 4 June 1910 issue of The Spectator. Courtesy of the Internet Archive.
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