I have a 1920 (48th Impression or printing) edition of L.M. Montgomery’s
Anne of Green Gables, bought for a dollar at a yard sale during the town of Andes’
Community Day two Augusts ago. The sewn binding is separated from the linen cover,
the pages--foxed with age spots and frayed along the edges--are soft as fabric.
It’s even more magical reading the story with an old copy. My dream of having my own
little house in the country first began after I read this excellent novel as a child.
Asters and a sunset in August.
I privately call my loft ‘the east gable’, after Anne’s room at Green Gables,
her very first personal space in her whole life. After my internet and farm chores were done
for the day, I went there to settle in my twee bed and down pillows with my doggies curled up
on either side of me to have a good re-read by the light of an antique lamp
of that most charming story.
But, the loft space gets very hot by the end of a summer afternoon, so I decided to make
a bed in my screen porch storage room. It’s so tiny my cushions filled the whole thing!
I strung up white and pink lantern lights to read by. They make the porch look like an
Oak Bluffs summer cottage . I could feel the breeze coming across the mountainside,
rustling the firs, and hear the crickets, an owl, and most pleasantly of all my stream.
I’ve revered this book above other ‘important’ writers-- you know, usually those who write
sad tales with unhappy endings. I did my thesis on Canadian writer Margaret Atwood,
and I wished so much Montgomery, also Canadian, was considered as important in academia.
It is a heart-warming tale of hope, with vividly drawn characters, and nature-centric prose as
delicious to drink as raspberry cordial.
In 1985, when I was going through a very difficult time, even Kevin Sullivan’s film adaptation
could transport me away from my problems. I haven’t read all of Montgomery’s other
books so I can look forward to savoring them for the rest of my life!
Graphic backgrounds from Tattered Vintage
Until next time, stay shabby!
Links
I'll be sharing this with Show & Tell Friday over at My Romantic Home,
please join Cindy's party!
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