Chronicles of Avonlea - The Original Classic Edition

Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories by L.M. Montgomery, In which Anne Shirley of Green Gables and Avonlea plays some part, and which have to do with other personalities and events. First published in June of 1912 when Montgomery had published Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Kilmeny of the Orchard, and The Story Girl, it is my understanding that the author revised some of these stories to work in references to Anne and Avonlea, which would make them more palatable for her growing audience of readers.

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This volume contains my favorite Montgomery short story, Old Lady Lloyd, which is actually set in Spencervale. The title character is thought to be rich, mean and proud but is really only the last that is true. But then she hears of the plight of young Sylvia Gray and Margaret Lloyd finds there is something more important than her wicked pride. Montgomery does some nice twists with what is basically a fairy godmother story. Old Lady Lloyd also provided the basis for one of the first season episodes of the television series Road to Avonlea, as did the comic romances Aunt Olivias Beau and The Quarantine at Alexander Abrahams from this volume.

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Although Old Lady Lloyd is a love story of sorts, many of the dozen stories found here are more traditional romances. The Hurrying of Ludovic is about Anne Shirleys plan to help the ironically named Ludovic Speed to hurry up and ask her friend TheodoraDix to be married. The Winning of Lucinda and The Courting of Prissy Strong follow suit as well, although with Montgomerys wry sense of humor coming into play. But another strong theme in these stories starting with Old Lady Lloyd is the love of music, which comes into play in both Each in His Own Tongue and Little Joscelyn. Old Man Shaws Girl fits into neither camp, but is one of the better stories here as well.

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This collection was followed by a second, Further Chronicles of Avonlea, and if you take these two, The Story Girl and its sequel The Golden Road, then you have the four books that served as the basis of various episodes of Road to Avonlea. But if you are a fan of Montgomerys writing then you already know that even in her novels she often worked in various short stories and might even have come to the conclusion that she was better at short stories than at novels. Still, for those who found seven Anne books to be far too few, this collection is the first place to turn to find her in other stories.