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Rilla of Ingleside

By L.M. Montgomery
Edited and with an Introduction by Benjamin Lefebvre and Andrea McKenzie
Toronto: Viking Canada, 2010. xxvi + 390 pp.

In my latest story, “Rilla of Ingleside,” I have tried, as far as in me lies, to depict the fine and splendid way in which the girls of Canada reacted to the Great War—their bravery, patience and self-sacrifice. The book is theirs in a sense in which none of my other books have been: for my other books were written for anyone who might like to read them: but “Rilla” was written for the girls of the great young land I love, whose destiny it will be their duty and privilege to shape and share.

–L.M. Montgomery, from “How I Became a Writer,” 1921

Publishing History

Jacketed hardcover (Viking Canada), October 2010
Kindle edition, October 2010
Trade paperback (Penguin Canada), November 2011

Synopsis

First published in 1921, Rilla of Ingleside—originally written as the final sequel to Anne of Green Gables—is one of the only contemporary depictions in Canadian fiction of women on the home front during the First World War. Focusing on Rilla Blythe, the pretty and high-spirited youngest daughter of Anne Shirley, the novel paints a vivid and compelling picture of the women who battled to keep the home fires burning throughout those tumultuous years. Using her own wartime experience and imagination, Montgomery recreates the laughter and grief, poignancy and suspense, struggles and courage of Canadian women at war.

This special gift edition includes Montgomery’s complete, restored, and unabridged original text as well as a thoughtful introduction from the editors, a detailed glossary, maps of Europe during the war, and war poems by L.M. Montgomery and her contemporary Virna Sheard.

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island, in 1874. She published twenty novels and over a thousand short stories, essays, and poems, but is best known for Anne of Green Gables (1908) and its sequels: Anne of Avonlea (1909), Anne of the Island (1915), Anne of Windy Poplars (1936), Anne’s House of Dreams (1917), Anne of Ingleside (1939), Rainbow Valley (1919), Rilla of Ingleside (1921), and The Blythes Are Quoted (2009). Since her death in 1942, she has been widely recognized as a writer of national significance in Canada, and her work continues to fascinate readers all over the world.

Benjamin Lefebvre, Ph.D., is editor of Montgomery’s rediscovered final book, The Blythes Are Quoted, and director of the L.M. Montgomery Research Group. Most recently he co-edited a collection of essays, Anne’s World: A New Century of Anne of Green Gables. He has published widely on Montgomery’s fiction and life writing.

Andrea McKenzie, Ph.D., is a director of writing at New York University. Educated at the University of Waterloo, she focuses on personal narratives of the First World War, including L.M. Montgomery’s journals and fiction. She also explores the cultural and historical significance of illustrations and images in relation to Montgomery’s work.

Contents

Introduction by Benjamin Lefebvre and Andrea McKenzie (ix–xix)

A Note on the Text (xx)

The Origins of the First World War (xxi–xxv)

Chapter I: Glen “Notes” and Other Matters (3–15)

Chapter II: Dew of Morning (16–22)

Chapter III: Moonlit Mirth (23–36)

Chapter IV: The Piper Pipes (37–50)

Chapter V: “The Sound of a Going” (51–66)

Chapter VI: Susan, Rilla, and Dog Monday Make a Resolution (67–75)

Chapter VII: A War Baby and a Soup Tureen (76–86)

Chapter VIII: Rilla Decides (87–95)

Chapter IX: Doc Has a Misadventure (96–102)

Chapter X: The Troubles of Rilla (103–15)

Chapter XI: Dark and Bright (116–27)

Chapter XII: In the Days of Langemarck (128–35)

Chapter XIII: A Slice of Humble Pie (136–46)

Chapter XIV: The Valley of Decision (147–53)

Chapter XV: Until the Day Break (154–63)

Chapter XVI: Realism and Romance (164–78)

Chapter XVII: The Weeks Wear By (179–93)

Chapter XVIII: A War Wedding (194–207)

Chapter XIX: “They Shall Not Pass” (208–217)

Chapter XX: Norman Douglas Speaks Out in Meeting (218–24)

Chapter XXI: “Love Affairs Are Horrible” (225–31)

Chapter XXII: Little Dog Monday Knows (232–39)

Chapter XXIII: “And So, Goodnight” (240–45)

Chapter XXIV: Mary Is Just in Time (246–57)

Chapter XXV: Shirley Goes (258–66)

Chapter XXVI: Susan Has a Proposal of Marriage (267–78)

Chapter XXVII: Waiting (279–95)

Chapter XXVIII: Black Sunday (296–301)

Chapter XXIX: “Wounded and Missing” (302–6)

Chapter XXX: The Turning of the Tide (307–12)

Chapter XXXI: Mrs. Matilda Pitman (313–24)

Chapter XXXII: Word from Jem (325–33)

Chapter XXXIII: Victory!! (334–36)

Chapter XXXIV: Mr. Hyde Goes to His Own Place and Susan Takes a Honeymoon (337–41)

Chapter XXXV: “Rilla-my-Rilla!” (342–50)

Canadian Women’s Poetry of the First World War (351–53)

Our Women, by L.M. Montgomery (352)

The Young Knights, by Virna Sheard (352–53)

Glossary (354–87)

Further Reading (388–89)

Acknowledgments (390)

Praise

“A tried-and-true wartime novel. . . . Poignant, funny, sentimental, ironic, suspenseful and heartbreaking.” —Toronto Star

“This attractive re-issue, edited so ably by Benjamin Lefebvre and Andrea McKenzie, . . . is an essential purchase for all libraries, a wonderful read for adults and youth aged 12 and up and a great resource for students of World War I. Highly recommended.” —CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Media and Publicity

Book signing, Lucy Maud Montgomery Museum, Crawford’s Village Bakeshop (Norval, Ontario), 27 November 2010.

“Editing L.M. Montgomery across the Scholarly/Trade Divide.” Paper presented at the Conference on Editorial Problems, University of Toronto, 23 October 2010.

Purchase

Indigo (Kobo)
Penguin Random House Canada (ebook)

Rilla of Ingleside at L.M. Montgomery Online

Rilla of Ingleside at Goodreads