Rilla of Ingleside

Rilla of Ingleside: Anne of Green Gables Series #8

In this novel, Anne is the mother. Most of the action revolves around her children. It is the time of World War I. Patriotism stirs in that part of Canada. People want to go help the British cause. However, things in the war are not going so well. They do wish the Americans would also join in. There are some references to American politics at the time. At home, one girl ends up watching a "war baby". His father is fighting the war, while the mother has dies. This is a significant sublot, that comes to a nice conclusion as he gets an inheritance from an old lady that they had met once. People back home were also interested in coupling, with some weddings made right before they go off. The novel provides a good exploration of what life was like when the Great War was going on.

Anne of Ingleside

Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery

Anne is now the mother of young children while her husband is a well-respected community doctor. Her children have much of the positive naivety that Anen had as a child. They trust various yarns spun by their classmates often leading to crazy occurrences. One daughter goes to the house of another to tell the mother that she was switched at birth with her daughter because a classmate had said so. The other mother brushes it aside because the girls are a year apart. 

Anne has as few things of her own. She gets very jealous of her husband when they meet up with one of his old girlfriends. She believes that he has forgotten their anniversary and is smitten with this other girl. She later discovers that he had a present for her that arrived late and saw that her forgetting of the anniversary as a nice excuse to delay it. He also thought the old girlfriend was a bore. In another case, Anne tries to play the matchmaker to hook up a couple. Alas, she tries the "contrary" approach. The girl later asks if she can try to get Anne's blessing - they had been engaged before Anne tried.

The book is a primarily a book of positive experiences raising young children. There will be challenges. But the positive style used by Anne's family compares favorably to the bickering and negativity shown by others.

Anne of Windy Poplars

Anne of Windy Poplars by L. M. Montgomery

Anne is working as a principal of a small school. She is engaged, but her fiancé is in another town studying medicine. Much of the book is letters or journals. In the town, there is one close-knit extended family that has a lot of control. Alas, they wanted one of their clan to have Anne's position, so Anne is on their "bad list" They don't invite her to activities, and the kids misbehave. However, they offer a truce after Anne uncovered some old stories about a relative. They had thought she planned to blackmail them with a scandal, but Anne had good intentions. Things are happier once they get along. Anne also had challenges getting along with another teacher. Eventually the other teacher opened up and Anne was able to help her. They became friends and the friend became a much better person. There are various other challenges with students and their relationships. Anne always seems to have a glowing outlook, but she is not infallible.

Anne of the Island

Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery

Anne goes off to college. There are various challenges, but everything seems to end up well in the end. She and her friends want to rent a house together. They luck out and find a house that they liked available for rent. There are all sorts of boy issues and marriages. Anne tells a good friend that they can only be friends and then dates another guy. Two years later, when the other guy proposes to her, she turns him down and realizes the friend is best. There are also various romantic challenges, including with a couple that had to wait a few decades for a sick mother to die. It feels refreshing to read about relationships rather than "desire" in modern romantasies.

Anne's House of Dreams

Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery

Anne is now married to a doctor. She moves with him to her "house of dreams". On the way in, she notices a beautiful girl. Their neighbors also include a gossipy spinster and an old sailor. Anne befriends many of the neighbors. She learns that the beautiful girl is a woman that has been married for a dozen years. She has faced great hardships and was forced into the marriage with the man. The man has since become amentally deficient invalid and she has been caring for him for years.

There are some adventures. They learn of a teacher that used to live here. The grandson of the teacher comes back. The beautiful girl falls for him, but remains loyal to her spouse. The grandson also works on writing a book of the sailors history. Later Anne's husband talks to the beautiful girl about a surgery to cure his problem.

The story ends with a happy ending. After the surgery, the girl's "husband" turns out to be the husband's cousin. The real husband had died. The sailor's life history was published. The spinster found a husband. Anne gave birth to a child. The writer returns and starts a courtship of the beautiful girl. The sailor is able to read the book of his history and then passes away. It all makes for a nice happy ending.

Rainbow Valley

Rainbow Valley by L. M. Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables is now the older mother. The kids are concerned with religion and the like. There is a marriage at the end. People don't want to be the "evil mother in law", but do decide to join a family. I found myself quite lost in this book. Maybe I should not have jumped around so much in the order.

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

This audiobook has very good narration. Anne is an orphan who lost her family. An old brother and sister in rural maritime Canada want an orphan boy to come help them on the farm. They get Anne instead. They want to send her back. However, the super chatty Anne ends up winning them over. She is always talking and daydreaming. She has various mishaps, such as messing up recipes, getting her friend drunk and dying her hair green. However, she also has also been very helpful at times (such as helping a sick kid.) She is always innocently chatting and dreaming. She is also a a smart, hard worker who is loyal to others. She ends up winning a scholarship to study away from home. However, she decides to stay so she could take care of her guardian (who is now alone after her brother died.) Anne just can't help but drive you crazy while making you want to love her.