Rilla of Ingleside

1921, 1992 Bantam edition
L. M. Montgomery
Rilla of Ingleside
Bought new for $3.99
Worn paperback
B-

This book has too much of Susan the cook, and that you may tie to.  There is more Anne than in Rainbow Valley, but she's still a background character.  We're told what "mother" is going through but not really shown it.  Anne has three sons, the youngest named Shirley (after her maiden name), so apparently it was still a boys' name to some degree, even if Miss Temple would be born seven years after this novel was published, and even if Miss Bronte's book was over seventy years old.  All three sons go to war, although the middle one, Walter, is a sensitive poet who hates ugliness.  He of course is the one who dies, but his sacrifice, and the sacrifice of all the Canadian "boys" is worth it for the possibility of a better world.

To put it mildly, this book is pro-war.  War is a terrible thing, but if the Kaiser is running amok, then we must stop him.  Walter writes a beautiful, inspirational poem called "The Piper," which all of Canada quotes, except for the author who doesn't share even a line of it.  (And she gave us highlights of Anne's infamous baking-powder story.)  The one "pacifist" in town is actually a pro-German, ugly, pretentious git.  In the most implausible turn of events, he proposes marriage to sexagenarian Susan because she's hard-working, even though she's made clear to everyone that she loathes him.

So what's for me to like in this book?  Well, I do enjoy the development of the title character.  Amusingly, she's named Bertha Marilla Blythe (first name after Anne's mother, middle name after Anne's foster mother of course), and hates her nickname.  If only everyone would call her by her beautiful first name!  Uh, yeah.  More dated than a boy named Shirley.

Anyway, Bertha goes from a shallow, vain flibbertigibbet to a compassionate, brave teen mother.  It's OK, she's just raising a "war baby," until his soldier father returns home, a mere four-and-a-half years later.  She also deals with grief and romance, in a believable fashion.  She's in love with another soldier boy, Ken Ford, son of her mom's beloved Leslie.  (Poor Diana has been almost forgotten, but she does get a mention or two, since her son is also off at war.)

The other character and thread I like is surprisingly Dog Monday and his loyal vigil at the train station, waiting for Jem to come home.  Jem is hardly in this series so far-- a baby in House of Dreams, usually off studying in Rainbow Valley-- but it is touching when he comes home and finds his dog waiting for him.  And I don't even like dogs!  It's a corny subplot, but darn me if it doesn't work.

Oh, yeah, Susan says "darn" a lot, the wartime stress getting to her.  She can be stubbornly old-fashioned, refusing to ride in the doctor's new automobile, although she considers going to the movies after the war.  I'm genuinely puzzled why Rilla's nickname for the baby, Jims, is considered unChristian by Susan, while she's still calling the other James in the family "little Jem."

The book also gets points for what is now a history lesson but was then raw and recent, all the battles and negotiations of the war, as seen from the homefront.  Plus, this "collector's edition" has a nice biography of Montgomery, and a handy map of Prince Edward Island.