Chronicles Of Avonlea, by L.M. Montgomery - Great Old Vintage Children’s Books!

What a pleasure a vintage children’s book is! It’s such a sweet thing to be able to open the pages and slip back to a world belonging to a sweeter, gentler, more innocent time. In this category I would definitely place all of the Avonlea books by L.M. Montgomery. No doubt you are well aware of the early books in the series, amongst them ‘Anne of Avonlea’ and ‘Anne of Green Gables’. However Montgomery, after the initial success of her first ‘Anne’ books, went on to write a great many more, which were also very successful at the time.

L.M. Montgomery and the 'Anne Girl'

Montgomery was born in Canada in 1874, and struggled to find success as a writer for many years prior to finally achieving success with the Anne books. She was a native of Prince Edward Island and married a minister, having three children. Her most successful creation, the red-headed orphan who is foisted upon an unwilling pair of elderly siblings in place of a boy, has lived on in the minds of generations of children ever since.

Anne Shirley and Prince Edward Island

‘Chronicles of Avonlea’ is set in Anne Shirley’s world, and she plays a peripheral role in several of the stories. However these are stand-alone tales which do not require prior knowledge of Montgomery’s work in order to fully enjoy them.

Vintage Children's Books: Buying Anne of Green Gables Books

The twelve stories included in this collection are as follows; 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 and The End Of A Quarrel.

Of these, Old Lady Lloyd is perhaps the most sentimental, dealing as it does with the secret motherly attachment of an old maid to the daughter of the man she rejected in her youth. (This is a common theme for Montgomery: in ‘Anne world’, women always live to regret giving a decent man the old heave-ho. No good can come of all this career woman nonsense, evidently! Although an education for women is certainly a thing she is happy to champion, Anne Shirley and her B.A. from Queens' University being the prime example.) Many of the stories have a pleasantly humorous element, especially The Quarantine At Alexander Abraham’s and Aunt Olivia’s Beau (which is genuinely funny).

What is the availability of this book? If you do a search on Amazon, you will find that there are many new paperback copies available in recent printings. There’s nothing quite like a real old vintage version, though, especially with an original dustjacket intact, complete with all the old-timey artwork and techniques!

Do you love to read about Anne Shirley? Would you like to explore the alternate universe of Avonlea further? The Chronicles of Avonlea: it’s a great place to start.