Penguin recently published an important reprint of Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
You probably think you already own this book in paperback, probably as part of a set of "Anne Books" you got for Christmas from your grandma. You may never have read it, getting bogged down in the third Anne book, and it sat there, neglected. Maybe you have read it. You might even be a pretty big Montgomery fan, think you know a lot about her, maybe you even read her biography, and you might not realize how important this new edition of Rilla really is.
You see, you haven't really read Rilla of Ingleside. Somewhere along the line, some lazy editor used an abridgment to make that nice little Seal edition you got in the 1980s or 90s. Even if you think you know everything about Montgomery, or if you are just a partial fan, this is the clincher: a lot of those Seal editions are abridged. In fact, all of them might be. So if you think you've read Montgomery, you haven't. You missed out on a lot.
This new edition of Rilla is the first time this book has appeared intact since 1976.
Maybe you haven't read Montgomery before, and if so, this is a decent place to start. Sure, the main character is a teenage girl, but this book deals with dark themes that aren't necessarily kid-appropriate. I usually recommend A Tangled Web for first time Montgomery reader, or The Blue Castle (my personal favourite), but of all the "Anne Books," Rilla is the one I have read the most. It comes from, in my opinion, Montgomery's best period as a writer. It is popular and subversive, romantic and dark, comedic and tragic. The characters jump off the page.
A beautiful hardcover edition, the new one also comes with lots of bonus material. On top of the Introduction, there's contextual information on the First World War, information on women and poetry during the First World War, and a glossary that functions almost as well as annotations to the text.
This is the only book written by a Canadian woman during the War, about the home-front during the War, and specifically the impact of the War on Canadian women. It's incredibly unique, and frankly, an incredibly good read.
And if you aren't convinced of Montgomery's importance, keep in mind that Margaret Laurence, Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood all credit her as having an essential impact on their development as writers. There is a growing opinion that Montgomery is the seminal Canadian writer, so get on board the bandwagon and read this book!
Posts
Would you be able to recommend editions of LM Montgomery that are not abridged. obviouly, the early editions are not, but I cant afford them. I had all of Montgomery's books, but they are either bantam or seal paperbacks (which use the same cover art, so they probably have the same parent company). Easton also has the same illustrations on the inside as the cover art on the bantm and seal editions. I think a lot of the puffin editions are also abridged. I intend to get hardbacks. I have Ben Lefebvre's restored editions of Rilla and Blythes are Quoted, but would like to get good editions of all the others (and not just the anne series).
ReplyDeleteWhat would you reccomend?
Sorry I never replied to this comment! All I can recommend is getting earlier editions. Sometimes you can find early reprints for not too much money. The British editions tend to be less abridged also.
ReplyDelete