Anne of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables, No. 6) | L.M. Montgomery

Anne of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables, No. 6) | L.M. Montgomery | Jen

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Anne of Ingleside ...

	Anne of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables, No. 6) L.M. Montgomery Starfire, 1984 - 277 pages average customer review:based on 41 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The continued saga of the now adult, Anne, mother of five children.

Not at all disappointed

I'm surprised at how many Anne fans are disappointed in Anne of Ingleside. Of course, Anne can't be the same 13-year-old girl we first met, but I'm still rooting for her all the way. Some say Anne has her "ideal life," but near the end of this novel, Anne does stumble upon some insecurity, which I found absolutely devastating. I have laughed and cried with Anne throughout this series, and this installment is no exception. Now, we get to meet Anne's children, who have trials of their own. Not a bit boring to me. I would still recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the younger Annes.

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Jen

I loved this book. I admit I love all the Anne books, but this one is one of my favorites. I loved hearing about her children and more about what is going on in Anne's head. It is a sweet book.

Good!

Not the best Anne book, but good! :-) It's 'good' to see some conflict in Anne and Gilbert's marriage instead of the sweet but forced bliss in ANNE OF WINDY POPLARS and ANNE'S HOUSE OF DREAMS.

L.M. Montgomery's last novel does not do justice to our beloved Anne-girl

"Anne of Ingleside" is the sixth book in L.M. Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" series, but it was the last of the eight books written. Montgomery had originally ended her series in 1920 with "Rilla of Ingleside." In 1936 she wrote "Anne of Windy Poplars," which became the fourth book and fit in between "Anne of the Island" and "Anne's House of Dreams," covering the three years the red-headed orphan spent teaching while waiting for Gilbert to finish medical school. "Anne of Ingleside" was written in 1939 and is set ten years after "Anne's House of Dreams," and before "Rainbow Valley." This allows Montgomery the opportunity to retroactively foreshadow what would happen to her son Walter in the World War and other aspects of the final pair of books.

At this point Anne and Gilbert have five children, are about to have a sixth, and have made Glen St. Mary into a home. But then Gilbert's maiden Aunt Mary Maria arrives and puts a serious damper on the happy household. Anne's primary focus is on her children and their daily little crises, although Jem wanting a dog turns out to be a constant concern. It takes a little get used to Anne Shirley being a mother, but what is impossible to believe is that Anne is suddenly worried that Gilbert no longer loves her. But Anne is not only convinced of this, but is equally sure that Gilbert is interested in somebody else, the widowed Mrs. Andrew Dawson of Winnipeg, who was formerly Christine Stuart. Yes, the same Christine Stuart that Anne was jealous of in "Anne of the Island" when she thought Gilbert was dating her, even though the truth was he was simply providing her with an escort since her fiance was out of town. Apparently our Anne-girl can be fooled twice and the entire business is carried all the way until the final chapter, which is why I round down on this one. It has to be clear to all those who love the character of Anne Shirley and the writing of L.M. Montgomery that this novel is on the bottom shelf and it is there for good reason.

This was Montgomery's last novel, her previous effort being "Jane of Lantern Hill" in 1937. That was a solid story about a young girl reconciling her parents, but "Anne of Ingleside" really does seem like Montgomery took everything she had left and mixed it together for a last novel. At the end Montgomery describes Anne in her white gown, her hair in two long braids, looking, "like the Anne of Green Gables days . . . of Redmond days . . . of the House of Dreams days. That inward glow was still shining through her." That is what we want to hear, but it is really too little too late. However, just accept that this book is an abberation. Even though the Blythes are secondary characters in the next book, "Rainbow Valley," is it one of my favorites and the story of the Blythes during the World War makes for a fascinating ending to the story, even if it is far removed from where we started with the red-headed orphan who was adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

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