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I finished re-reading the fifth book, ‘Anne’s house of dreams’, towards the end of September, and have just finished the sixth book in the series, ‘Anne of Ingleside’, which I last read in 2008. I’ve probably only read it two or three times before that, so I hadn’t remembered it at all.
Like some of the earlier books, this isn’t so much a novel with a plot as a series of incidents in Anne’s life, and, more significantly, the lives of her children. She has five at the start of the book, and is expecting her sixth. She was quite ill after the birth of Shirley, her fifth child, so her offspring are being farmed out to stay with friends. None of them know what’s going on - in this era children weren’t told about babies being expected, and had no idea about how pregnancy or birth happened.
Walter, most sensitive of all the children, is sent to stay with a family who have children around his age. Unfortunately some of them are unkind and none of them - other than one little girl - understand or even like him. They tell him that his mother is very ill, maybe dying; and he can’t bear to be away from her. So he bravely sets out on a long walk home in the middle of the night.
It’s a surprisingly moving story. Anne is an excellent mother, giving just the right kind of guidance, love and reassurance. Her parenting is quite radical for the time it was written, though it seems more normal today. She never laughs at her children, or fails to take their worries seriously. She tells them what they need to know, and gives them a lot of affection as well as plenty of freedom.
It’s not the only place where I had a few tears in my eyes as I read. Jem - the oldest child, who is about ten or eleven at the start of the book - has a passion for dogs, but a lot of bad luck where they’re concerned. I found some of his scenes extremely poignant.
More amusing - and salutary - are the times when the twins, Nan and Di, become attached to friends at school and believe tall stories that are evidently made up. The two have quite different characters, but their stories are remarkably similar.
I don’t recall any stories or anecdotes involving Shirley (who is a boy, despite his name), other than him listening in to a group of gossipping women who are making a quilt. It's rather a dull chapter, in my view. However there’s a sweet story towards the end with Rilla, as she approaches five, and is considered old enough to carry a cake through the village to the church hall. For some reason, Rilla is convinced that it’s shameful to be seen carrying a cake, so although I could feel for her terrible embarrassment, it’s also quite an amusing story.
Anne, meanwhile, starts out by struggling to deal with a bitter aunt who is staying. Later in the book she tries her hand at some matchmaking and all seems to be going well when there’s an unexpected development. She also experiences jealousy, almost despair, when Gilbert seems to take little notice of her, but spends time, at a party, with an old flame of his.
And in all this they are supported magnificently by the hard-working Susan, who can’t be young but who seems to have almost boundless energy. Anne treats her almost as one of the family, but Susan does most of the cooking and cleaning, the washing up, the shopping and so much more; she also works as nursemaid to all the children when they’re young, and regularly looks after them as they grow up. She is devoted to Anne and Gilbert and adores the children, but seems to work long hours, quite strenuously, without much of a break.
This book is good from the social history point of view, and the characterisation is good. But it doesn’t really add to Anne’s story (other than the birth of Rilla). There are many digressions, too, into village life, or stories of people’s friends and relatives. There seem to be a lot of funerals locally, but that was, sadly, part of life too with shorter life expectancies.
Not my favourite of the ‘Anne’ books, but worth reading as part of the series. I’m glad I read it again, and may do so again in another decade or so.
The earlier books were intended for teenagers, but Anne is in her late thirties now, so it’s probably more appealing, now, to adults who liked the series when they were younger. But older teens who like this kind of slow, meandering story with mild humour and poignancy may enjoy it too. Definitely best read after the earlier ones.
Note that these books are out of copyright now, so they're available to download free, and republished by several independent publishers. The quality isn't always guaranteed, but the link above is to the latest Puffin version, which should be authentic and complete.
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