This edition of The Story Girl was published as a mass-market paperback by Seal Books (Toronto) in April 1987, as part of an effort to republish all twenty-two book-length works of fiction by L.M. Montgomery between 1981 and 1988. Near-identical editions were published by Bantam Books (New York) in 1989 and by Bantam Books (London) in 1990. This edition was reissued in Canada and the United States with a modified cover design in 1993.
{ The Story Girl } { The Story Girl: Editions } { Seal Books } { Editions, 1980–1989 }
Cover of The Story Girl, by L.M. Montgomery (Seal Books, 1987), along with the cover of a 1993 reissue. Cover art by Ben Stahl.
Author
L.M. Montgomery
Title
Language
English
Country
Canada
Publisher Location
Toronto
Publisher
Publication Date
Format
Print, mass-market paperback, 6 7/8” x 4 3/8”, viii + 258 pp. + 6 pp.
Cover Artist
Ben Stahl
Front Cover Copy
From the author of the beloved Anne of Green Gables series [1987 edition]
From the Author of the Anne of Green Gables Novels [1993 reissue]
She has a story for every occasion . . . and the whole town of Carlisle has fallen under her spell [1987 edition]
Back Cover Copy
[1987 edition]
A Born Storyteller
She’s only fourteen, but she can weave tales that are impossible to resist—tales that spark the imagination and touch the heart. Meet Sara Stanley, better known as the Story Girl. She’s L.M. Montgomery’s most enchanting heroine since Anne of Green Gables.
Here, in the charming, old-fashioned town of Carlisle, children and grown-ups alike flock from miles around to hear the Story Girl narrate her spellbinding tales in a voice so pure, so vibrant, so golden, it could melt the heart of a stone. You, too, will be captivated by Sara’s stories—from the scary “Tale of the Family Ghost” to the fanciful “How Kissing Was Discovered” to the bittersweet “The Blue Chest of Rachel Ward.” These are timeless stories to be read . . . and reread . . . and shared with all the special people you love.
[1993 reissue]
Sara Stanley is only fourteen, but she can weave tales that are impossible to resist. In the charming town of Carlisle, children and grown-ups alike flock from miles around to hear her spellbinding tales. And when Bev King and his younger brother Felix arrive for the summer, they, too, are captivated by the Story Girl. Whether she’s leading them on exciting misadventures or narrating timeless stories—from the scary “Tale of the Family Ghost’ to the fanciful “How Kissing Was Discovered” to the bittersweet “The Blue Chest of Rachel Ward”—the Story Girl has her audience hanging on her every word.
Contents
(i) [Teaser]
It Was Time for Another Story!
The kitchen was a scene of happy activity. The Story Girl peeled her potatoes, somewhat slowly and awkwardly—for she was not deft at household tasks.
“I am sitting on a tragedy,” said the Story Girl suddenly.
Felix and I stared. We were not quite what a “tragedy” was, but we did not think it was an old blue wooden chest, such as the Story Girl was undoubtedly sitting on . . .
“This old blue chest holds a tragedy,” explained the Story Girl. “I know a story about it.”
“Cousin Rachel Ward’s wedding things are all in that old chest,” said Felicity.
Who was Cousin Rachel Ward? And why were her wedding things shut up in an old blue chest in Uncle Alec’s kitchen? We demanded the tale instantly. The Story Girl told it to us as she peeled her potatoes. Perhaps the potatoes suffered, but the story did not.
“It is a sad story,” said the Story Girl, ”and it happened fifty years ago . . .”
(ii) Seal Books by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Ask your bookseller for the books you have missed
[1987 edition]
The Story Girl
The Anne of Green Gables Series
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island
Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne’s House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of InglesideThe Emily Books
Emily of New Moon
Emily Climbs
Emily’s Quest
[1993 edition]
The Blue Castle
The Golden Road
Jane of Lantern Hill
Kilmeny of the Orchard
Magic for Marigold
Mistress Pat
Pat of Silver Bush
The Story Girl
A Tangled WebThe Anne of Green Gables Series
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables Diary
Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island
Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne’s House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside
Chronicles of Avonlea
Further Chronicles of Avonlea
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of InglesideThe Emily Books
Emily of New Moon
Emily Climbs
Emily’s Quest
(iii) [Title Page]
(iv) [Copyright Page]
(v) [Half-Title Page]
(vi) [Blank Page]
(vii–viii) Contents
(1–258) [Chapters 1–32]
(n.pag.) About the Author
(n.pag.) Lucy Maud Montgomery ¶ Creator of Canada’s Most Beloved Heroine [list of books, with ISBN suffixes and suggested retail prices]
(n.pag.) Seal Books [list of books available through this imprint]
(n.pag.) [Ad for Canadian Give the Gift of Literacy Foundation]
(n.pag.) [Ad for the five Manawaka books by Margaret Laurence]
(n.pag.) [Blank Page]
Copyright Statement
Copyright, 1910 [sic] ¶ By L. C. Page & Company (Incorporated)
Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London
Printing History
First Canadian Edition / September 1944
Seal Edition / August 1987 [first printing] April 1987 [fifth printing]
ISBN
0-7704-2285-3
Related Editions
The Story Girl (Bantam Books, 1989)
The Story Girl (Bantam Books, 1990)
Notes
Once again, the original copyright date is listed erroneously as 1910; it should be 1911. The first printing includes August 1987 as the date of its publication; by the fifth printing, that date is changed to April 1987.
The epigraph and the dedication are omitted. Ben Stahl is identified as the cover artist only in the 1993 reissue.
Sources
Copies of the fifth, seventh printings (undated, but with 1987 cover) and of the fifteen printing (undated, but with the 1993 cover) are part of the site owner’s personal collection. Scanned covers above are of copies of the fifth and fifteenth printings. Thanks to Kate Jones for sharing information about the first printing of this edition.