A heartwarming collection of 17 rare short stories by famed Anne of Green Gables author.
Although best known for creating the spirited Anne Shirley, L. M. Montgomery had a thriving writing career that included hundreds of short stories and poems. Around the Hearth is a continuation of the Montgomery short story collections edited by Rea Wilmshurst in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, including stories such as "A Baking of Gingersnaps" (1895) ― the first story Montgomery published. As with Anne, who found a warm and welcoming home and family at Green Gables, these stories focus on homes and families, and the happiness and love people receive from them.
Over many years of careful research and meticulous compiling of resources, Joanne Lebold has curated a collection of short fiction that showcases all the warmth and charisma Montgomery's fans have come to cherish, and offers a rare glimpse into some of the beloved author's lesser-known works. Includes seventeen short stories originally published between 1895 and 1935.
Although L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) is best remembered for the twenty-two book-length works of fiction that she published in her lifetime, from Anne of Green Gables (1908) to Anne of Ingleside (1939), she also contributed some five hundred short stories and serials to a wide range of North American and British periodicals from 1895 to 1940. While most of these stories demonstrate her ability to produce material that would fit the mainstream periodical fiction market as it evolved across almost half a century, many of them also contain early incarnations of characters, storylines, conversations, and settings that she would rework for inclusion in her novels and collections of linked short stories.
In Twice upon a Time, the third volume in The L.M. Montgomery Library, Benjamin Lefebvre collects and discusses over two dozen stories from across Montgomery’s career as a short fiction writer, many of them available in book form for the first time. The volume offers a rare glimpse into Montgomery’s creative process in adapting her periodical work for her books, which continue to fascinate readers all over the world.
This collection of short stories by L.M. Montgomery reveals the early workings of parts of Anne of Green Gables, its sequels, and her other ever-popular novels.
Although best known for creating the spirited Anne Shirley, L. M. Montgomery had a thriving writing career that included several novels and more than five hundred poems and stories.
This collection brings together rare pieces originally published between 1900 and 1939 that haven’t been in print since their initial periodicals. Collins and Woster have carefully curated a mixture of newly discovered stories that showcase all the charm you expect from Montgomery. With scholarly prefaces and notes for each piece, the book offers readers a rare glimpse into how Montgomery’s writing developed over the years.
The Blythes are Quoted by L.M. Montgomery and edited by Benjamin Lefebvre was published in 2009. L.M. Montgomery had originally prepared her manuscript for this book prior to her death by suicide, but it was not published during her lifetime. In 1974, editors at McGraw-Hill Ryerson restructured the manuscript and published it as The Road to Yesterday. This version of the book included 14 short stories and one poem from the original manuscript, but it did not include L.M. Montgomery's interspersed narrative and conversational sections. The collection also omitted one of the short stories ("Some Fools and a Saint") and most of the poems from the original manuscript.
The Blythes are Quoted restores L.M. Montgomery's original manuscript structure and components. The book is divided into two parts, with the first part occurring before the Great War and the second part taking place after the war. The book depicts several evenings in Anne and Gilbert Blythe's household, during which Anne recites poetry. Following each poem, the Blythes have short episodes of conversation and commentary. Fifteen short stories are interspersed throughout the book. All of the short stories include mentions of the Blythe family or have appearances by members of the family.
The Blythes are Quoted includes the following contents:
Forward by Elizabeth Rollins Epperly
PART ONE
A note from L.M. Montgomery
"The Piper" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"Some Fools and a Saint" (short story)
Twilight at Ingleside (narrative vignette)
"I Wish You" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"The Old Path Round the Shore" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"Guest Room in the Country" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"An Afternoon with Mr. Jenkins" (short story)
The Second Evening
"The New House" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"Robin Vespers" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"Night" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"Man and Woman" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"Retribution" (short story)
The Third Evening
"There Is a House I Love" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"Sea Song" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"The Twins Pretend" (short story)
The Fourth Evening
"To a Desired Friend" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"Fancy’s Fool" (short story)
The Fifth Evening
"Midsummer Day" (poem by Anne Shirley)
"Remembered" (poem by Anne Shirley)
"A Dream Comes True" (short story)
The Sixth Evening
"Farewell to an Old Room" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"The Haunted Room" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"Song of Winter" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"Penelope Struts Her Theories" (short story)
The Seventh Evening
"Success" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"The Gate of Dream" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"An Old Face" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"The Reconciliation" (short story)
"The Cheated Child" (short story)
"Fool’s Errand" (short story)
"The Pot and the Kettle" (short story)
PART TWO
Another Ingleside Twilight
"Interlude" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"Come, Let Us Go" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"A June Day" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"Wind of Autumn" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"The Wild Places" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"For Its Own Sake" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"The Change" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"I Know" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"Brother Beware" (short story)
The Second Evening
"The Wind" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"The Bride Dreams" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"May Song" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"Here Comes the Bride" (short story)
The Third Evening
"The Parting Soul" (poem by Walter Blythe and Anne Blythe)
"My House" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"Memories" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"A Commonplace Woman" (short story)
The Fourth Evening
"Canadian Twilight" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"Oh, We Will Walk with Spring Today" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"Grief" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"The Room" (poem by Anne Blythe)
"The Road to Yesterday" (short story)
Au Revoir
"I Want" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"The Pilgrim" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"Spring Song" (poem by Walter Blythe)
"The Aftermath" (poem by Walter Blythe)
Afterword by Benjamin Lefebvre
A Note on the Text
Acknowledgments
Books by L.M. Montgomery
Image Credits:
Book cover of The Blythes are Quoted.
Purchase and read The Blythes are Quoted:
After Many Days: Tales of Time Passed was published in 1991. The book contains 18 of L.M. Montgomery's short stories that were rediscovered and edited by Rea Wilmshurst. The collection includes tales with themes of absence, separation, lost love, and returning home. The stories contained in the volume are listed below with their original publication dates in parentheses:
"After Many Days" (1903)
"The Bride Roses" (1903)
"The Romance of Jedediah" (1912)
"Elizabeth's Child" (1904)
"In the Old Valley" (1906)
"The Prodigal Brother" (1906)
"Robert Turner's Revenge" (1909)
"For a Dream's Sake" (1935)
"The Price" (1930)
"A Golden Wedding" (1909)
"Mrs. March's Revenge" (1904)
"An Unpremeditated Ceremony" (1907)
"Missy's Room" (1907)
"The Story of Uncle Dick" (1906)
"The Romance of Aunt Beatrice" (1902)
"The Setness of Theodosia" (1901)
"Between the Hill and the Valley" (1905)
"The Man Who Forgot" (1932)
The Doctor's Sweetheart and Other Stories is a book of short stories by L.M. Montgomery that was published in 1979. It includes short stories found in old magazines and periodicals by Catherine McLay. The collection contains 14 tales, many of which are romantic stories of courtships and reconciliations, as well as stories of orphans and spinsters. The short stories included in this volume and their original publication dates are listed below:
"Kismet" (1899)
"Emily's Husband" (1903)
"The Girl and the Wild Race" (1904)
"The Promise of Lucy Ellen" (1904)
"The Parting of the Ways" (1907)
"The Doctor's Sweetheart" (1908)
"By Grace of Julius Caesar" (1908)
"Akin to Love" (1909)
"The Finished Story" (1912)
"My Lady Jane" (1915)
"Abel and his Great Adventure" (1917)
"The Garden of Spices" (1918)
"The Bride is Waiting" (1932)
"I Know a Secret" (1935)
Purchase and read The Doctor's Sweetheart and Other Stories:
Among the Shadows: Tales from the Darker Side is a collection of short stories by L.M. Montgomery. The stories were rediscovered, collected, and edited by Rea Wilmshurst and published in 1990. This collection of dark, supernatural, and somber tales includes ghost stories and mysteries. The 19 stories in the collection are listed below with their original publication dates in parentheses:
"The Closed Door" (1934)
"Davenport's Story" (1902)
"The Deacon's Painkiller" (unknown publication date)
"Detected by the Camera" (1897)
"From Out the Silence" (1934)
"The Girl at the Gate" (1906)
"The House Party at Smoky Island" (1935)
"The Man on the Train" (1914)
"The Martyrdom of Estella" (1902)
"Min" (1903)
"Miriam's Lover" (1901)
"Miss Calista's Peppermint Bottle" (1900)
"The Old Chest at Wyther Grange" (1903)
"The Red Room" (1898)
"A Redeeming Sacrifice" (1909)
"The Redemption of John Churchill" (1906)
"Some Fools and a Saint" (1931)
"The Tryst of the White Lady" (1922)
"White Magic" (1921)
Purchase and read Among the Shadows: Tales from the Darker Side:
Akin to Anne: Tales of Other Orphans is a collection of short stories by L.M. Montgomery. Editor Rea Wilmshurst rediscovered these tales and published this volume in 1988. The book contains 19 stories about orphans like Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables, who are characterized by loneliness, hope, and an ability to persevere and overcome adversity. The stories and their original publication dates are listed below:
"Charlotte's Quest" (1933)
"Marcella's Reward" (1907)
"An Invitation Given on Impulse" (1900)
"Freda's Adopted Grave" (1904)
"Ted's Afternoon Off" (1907)
"The Girl Who Drove the Cows" (1908)
"Why Not Ask Miss Price?" (1904)
"Jane Lavinia" (1906)
"The Running Away of Chester" (1903)
"Millicent's Double" (1905)
"Penelope's Party Waist" (1904)
"The Little Black Doll" (1909)
"The Fraser Scholarship" (1905)
"Her Own People" (1905)
"Miss Sally's Company" (1904)
"The Story of an Invitation" (1901)
"The Softening of Miss Cynthia" (1904)
"Margaret's Patient" (1908)
"Charlotte's Ladies" (1911)
Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories is a collection of 16 stories by L.M. Montgomery that were gathered and rediscovered by Rea Wilmshurst and published in 1995. Two stories are Christmas chapters from the Anne of Green Gables series, and the other 14 stories are Christmas and New Year stories written by L.M.Montgomery for magazines. The titles of the stories contained in this volume and their original publication dates are listed below:
Matthew Insists on Puffed Sleeves (from Anne of Green Gables, 1908)
Christmas at Red Butte (1909)
The End of the Young Family Feud (1907)
Aunt Cyrilla's Christmas Basket (1903?)
The Osborne's Christmas (1903)
The Unforgotten One (1906)
Clorinda's Gifts (1906)
Katherine Brooke Comes to Green Gables (from Anne of Windy Poplars, 1934)
A Christmas Mistake (1899)
A Christmas Surprise at Enderly Road (1905)
The Falsoms' Christmas Dinner (1906)
A Christmas Inspiration (1901?)
The Josephs' Christmas (1902)
Uncle Richard's New Year Dinner (1910)
Ida's New Year Cake (1905)
Bertie's New Year (1905)
The Road to Yesterday by L.M. Montgomery
was published in 1974. L.M. Montgomery had originally penned this book under
the title The Blythes are Quoted, but the book was not published
during her lifetime. After L.M. Montgomery's death, her manuscript was
discovered by her son, Dr. Stuart MacDonald. The original manuscript for The
Blythes are Quoted was divided into two parts taking place before and after
World War I. Each part was composed of short stories interspersed with
narratives of evenings in Anne and Gilbert Blythe's household with the Blythe
family listening to Anne's poems.
In preparing The Road to Yesterday for publication, the
narrative sections were removed along with all but one of the poems. The
sequence of the short stories was reorganized. All of the stories included in
The Road to Yesterday mention members of the Blythe family.
The Road to Yesterday includes the poem "Canadian Twilight"
and 14 short stories, which are listed below:
"Canadian Twilight" (poem)
"An Afternoon with Mr. Jenkins"
"Retribution"
"The Twins Pretend"
"Fancy's Fool"
"A Dream Come True"
"Penelope Struts her Theories"
"The Reconciliation"
"The Cheated Child"
"Fool's Errand"
"The Pot and the Kettle"
"Here Comes the Bride"
"Brothers Beware"
"The Road to Yesterday"
"A Commonplace Woman"
Further Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories by L.M. Montgomery that was published in 1920. The title page of the first impression explains that the stories "have to do with many personalities and events in and about Avonlea, the Home of the Heroine of Green Gables."
In his introduction to the 1920 volume, Nathan Haskell Dole writes,
"There is something in these continued Chronicles of Avonlea, like the
delicate art which has made 'Cranford' a classic: the characters are so
homely and homelike and yet tinged with beautiful romance! You feel
that you are made familiar with a real town and its real inhabitants;
you learn to love them and sympathize with them. Further Chronicles of
Avonlea is a book to read; and to know."
Further Chronicles of Avonlea contains the following 15 stories:
"Aunt Cynthia's Persian Cat"
"The Materializing of Cecil"
"Her Father's Daughter"
"Jane's Baby"
"The Dream-Child"
"The Brother Who Failed"
"The Return of Hester"
"The Little Brown Book of Miss Emily"
"Sara's Way"
"The Son of His Mother"
"The Education of Betty"
"In Her Selfless Mood"
"The Conscience Case of David Bell"
"Only a Common Fellow"
"Tannis of the Flats"
Purchase and read Further Chronicles of Avonlea:
Facing the demand for more tales of Anne Shirley and Avonlea, L.M. Montgomery gathered old short stories she had previously published to produce Chronicles of Avonlea in 1912. Originally, these stories bore no mention of Anne or Avonlea, but Montgomery edited them to bring the stories into familiar territory. This collection contains the following 12 stories:
"The Hurrying of Ludovic"
"Old Lady Lloyd"
"Each in His Own Tongue"
"Little Joscelyn"
"The Winning of Lucinda"
"Old Man Shaw's Girl"
"Aunt Olivia's Beau"
"The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's"
"Pa Sloane's Purchase"
"The Courting of Prissy Strong"
"The Miracle at Carmody"
"The End of a Quarrel"
