Anne of Ingleside

1939, 1992 Bantam edition
L. M. Montgomery
Anne of Ingleside
Original price $2.95, purchase price $1.99
Worn paperback
B

This is the last "Anne" book Montgomery published before her death three years later, although it's #6 in the saga, going from just before Rilla's birth to just before Rainbow Valley.  It focuses on Anne and her family, although my favorite parts were the gossipy quilting bee and Anne's memory of someone telling off the corpse at his funeral.  The parts with the kids aren't too cutesy, although it bothers me how there are so many instances of "bad families" put in to contrast with the happy Blythes.  I like that Anne visits Diana early in the story, and the two women, now in their mid 30s, remember their youth 20 years ago.

This edition has the pull-quote of how happy Anne is to return from being Anne of Green Gables to being Anne of Ingleside.  Then on the back it tells of "insufferable Aunt Mary Maria visiting," and indeed Anne and her family are unhappy for close to a year because of Gilbert's aunt that he's too polite to tell to leave.  The back cover also mentions Anne's fear that Gilbert no longer loves her, which doesn't come up until very late in the book, when she becomes jealous of his old college girlfriend. 

In this story written on the eve of World War II, there's a sense that outsiders are bad.  And yet, some of the worst problems Anne and the children face are due to what's inside.  The Blythes, even sensible Gilbert when he's worrying over patients, let their imaginations run away with them and cause themselves and sometimes others misery. 

An odd book to end the series with, full of a disquieting undertone.  But overall, it's been a good journey, full of flowers and drama, good home-cooking and silliness, sewing and matchmaking.