Anne of Green Gables Questionnaire

It's my opinion that the internet is lacking in all things Anne of Green Gables, and especially excluding the popular Kevin Sullivan adaptations of the 1980s. So imagine my delight when, on browsing the internet I came across not just one excellent blog post, but an entire series from "Miss Dashwood" at Yet Another Period Drama Blog. This wonderful blogger hosted Anne of Green Gables Week, which, sadly, I missed seeing go out live by just a few days. (On the plus side, it meant that there were a lot of posts to catch up on, from both "Miss Dashwood" and her friends who got on board.)

One of the posts asked questions about bloggers' experiences and thoughts about Anne, and I always like an excuse to talk about her, even if I don't actually need one. So here are my answers to Miss Dashwood's questions:

1. How many of the Anne books have you read, and how many of the films have you seen?

I've read all the books (excluding The Blythes Are Quoted) more often than I can count. Of the Sullivan films, I've seen Anne of Green Gables many times and The Sequel once. I've also watched the 1970s BBC adaptation of Anne of Avonlea a few times and the 1930s film starring the actress who changed her name to Anne Shirley.

  
2. If someone yanked your hair and called you carrots, what would you do to him?

Well, I'd have to crack my slate over his head. I'd have no choice. However, my hair is not very carrotty, so I would be a bit baffled by it, and I wouldn't really be cross.

3. What would you do if Josie Pye dared you to walk the ridgepole of a roof?

I'd keep both feet on firm ground and let her dare away! (Probably mutter some sort of excuse and scurry away as fast as I can.)

4. If you had the opportunity to play any AGG (I'm abbreviating from now on because I am a lazy typist) character in an AGG play, which role would you choose?

Anne, no question about it. Though it would probably be around Anne's House of Dreams as I'm a bit older now. And, hey, that book hasn't been adapted yet, so I can hope.

5. If you were marooned on a desert island, which AGG character would you want to have as a companion? (Anne, Gilbert and Diana are not options.  Let's keep this thing interesting.  Not that they're not interesting.... oh, yay, now the disclaimer to this question is longer than the question itself.  Lovely lovely lovely.)

Walter Blythe. If he were stranded on a desert island with me, he couldn't go and fight in the war. And with him around, I wouldn't have to worry about having no books, because he could entertain me with his poetry and stories.

6. If there was going to be a new adaptation of the Anne books and you could have any part in making the movie, what would you choose to do? (screenwriting, acting, casting, costume-making are a few possibilities)

I'd write a screenplay for Rilla of Ingleside. I've actually started doing that (written a first draft of about three scenes.) Because it introduces the Blythe children as young adults, rather than continuing Anne's story, it would work as a stand-alone; you don't need to know too much about what came before, and there's no point in starting from the beginning, because I think the original Kevin Sullivan adaptation would be almost impossible to improve on.

7. What are, in your opinion, the funniest AGG book/movie scenes? (choose one from the books and one from the movies)

I can't just choose one! A funniest incident is Anne falling through the Copps' duck-house roof and having to stay there under an umbrella until Sarah comes home. (Avonlea) Or Rilla's rigid bringing-up of baby Jims by the book. (Rilla) And of course Gilbert Blythe at Redmond, cheerfully walking around town all day in a pinafore and bonnet as an initiation into a fraternity. (Island.) Oh, and there's the part when Ken comes to court Rilla and is regaled with every embarrassing memory Susan can think of. That's without mentioning any of the more famous incidents involving hair dye, slates, raspberry cordial or Tennyson poetry (Elaine and Lancelot, not The Lady of Shalott, by the way!)

Most of the best bits of the adaptations come straight from the text, but there is a wonderful addition to the script of the first Sullivan film: "I suppose it was rather a romantic way to perish... for a mouse."

8. What are, in your opinion, the saddest AGG book/movie scenes? (choose one of each again) 

When I first read Rilla as an adult, I sat up reading all night, crying my eyes out pretty much non-stop, actually making myself ill. I'd studied World War 1 in school, and I couldn't bear that it must affect my beloved Anne. But the bit that never fails to get me is Walter's last letter from the front.

I think the saddest thing exclusive to the adaptations was when I realised that all my favourite scenes from Anne of Avonlea and much of Anne of the Island were not going to make it onto the screen. In all seriousness, though, Matthew's death, though the obvious answer, always makes me tear up. 

9. Which AGG character would you most like to spend an afternoon with? (again, Anne and Gilbert and Diana are not options for this one--think secondary characters)

Susan Baker. She takes everything so seriously, but she makes me laugh no end.

10.  What is your definition of a kindred spirit?

Someone who you can be yourself around, without having to pretend to be anything or anyone you're not. A person who accepts you as you are, warts and all.

Links to my reviews of the Anne books and films:

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Avonlea

Anne of the Island

Anne of Windy Willows/Poplars

Anne's House of Dreams

Anne of Ingleside

Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside

Rilla of Ingleside (long and spoilery)

Anne of Green Gables - the 1985 version

Anne of Green Gables - the 1934 movie

Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside, L. M. Montgomery

I've decided to review the concluding two books in the Anne of Green Gables series in a single post, as I've already said a lot about Rilla of Ingleside three years ago. (You can read the original post here. Caution: It's long and full of spoilers.)

Rainbow Valley follows on from Anne of Ingleside, but by this point the Anne books aren't really about Anne Blythe, nee Shirley, any more. Rainbow Valley isn't even a Blythe family book, but instead is centred on a new family, the Merediths. John Meredith is the new Presbyterian minister, a young widower with four children. Although academically brilliant, Mr Meredith is completely at a loss when it comes to bringing up his children, and Jerry, Faith, Una and Carl cause scandal in the community by their wild behaviour.

I found Rainbow Valley to be much more enjoyable than Anne of Ingleside. The Blythe children, who befriend the Merediths, are a little older, and their escapades are less cutesy-poo and more heartfelt. Under the children's silly scapes is their real longing to get their father's attention, and to become respectable members of the community. Although I didn't feel that I got to know the boys very well - I would get Jerry Meredith confused with Jem Blythe, both being the eldest of their respective families, and having similar names - there was real character in the girls: impulsive, big-hearted Faith, and shy, thoughtful Una. We also got to know Walter Blythe better, who is growing to be an extraordinary, unearthly boy with his own battles.

Then there's Mary Vance, a runaway orphan "adopted" by the Merediths. Mary's story has strong parallels with Anne's own childhood, but a very different character - maybe an insight into what Anne could have been like without her imagination? Mary's language and attitude horrifies the minister's children, and even after she is being "brought up properly," she has a sharp tongue and too high an opinion of herself. I don't exactly like Mary Vance, but there is no denying she is a living character.

Perhaps I felt more interested in Rainbow Valley than its predecessor because L. M. Montgomery herself was more interested. Ingleside and Windy Willows, which are less of a joy for me to read, were written at a later date when I understand Montgomery had fallen out of love with Anne, and it shows. In Rainbow Valley there is stronger characterisation, with some newcomers who are more than gossippy old women and match-making subjects, but who take on a valuable role in the story. We meet intelligent, argumentative Norman Douglas, the West sisters imprisoned by their own vows to each other, and of course Mary and the Merediths, all of whom are as knowable as the Avonlea residents of old.

Anne's story concludes in Rilla of Ingleside, when her children are grown up, and so has the story. For the first time the timeless, slightly other-worldly, other-time classic is brutally placed into an exact place in history: World War One. I found it interesting to read about Canada as part of the British empire and the characters' patriotism towards a country most of them had never seen. I felt uncomfortable noticing that Rilla, who was so set against her brothers going to war, addressed a meeting about dying for one's country being glorious, and helping to persuade young lads to join up.

But this book does not allow idealism to overshadow the ugliness of war. We don't get to see the action first-hand - although one of Jem's letters home was reminiscent of some of war poet Wilfred Owen's writing - but Montgomery focuses in on the agony and helplessness of the people on the home front; the families, friends and lovers of the soldiers. Though full of comic and heartwarming scenes, through Rilla, Anne and Rilla's friend Gertrude, we feel the relentless agony of life, love and loss at such an unpredictable time, the fear that must underscore every aspect of life "Till the boys come home." And, of course, many never would return, including one of the Blythes' most beloved friends-and-relations. To Gertrude, Rilla, Una Meredith and me as a reader, it seemed that such loss could not be borne, but of course they survive and carry on. They must. But Rilla of Ingleside made it clear that for all who lived through the fateful years, the world had changed forever in a way that one can never quite get over.

Rilla of Ingleside is a guaranteed tearjerker, a bittersweet ending to the story that started off as such sweet escapism. In some ways I am glad that Anne retreated into the background in the later stories, as it seems so terrible that her story should take such a turn. By this point, this is far more than just a children's story, but a unique piece of World War One literature that deserves a place in the canon.

The Girl From Away trilogy, Claire Mowat

There are some people who are, as Anne Shirley would put it, true "kindred spirits." These are the people you can travel with, go for coffee or even lunch with, and completely ignore each other while you are both engrossed in books. Most people would probably think this weird and unsociable, but my closest friends understand completely. I've known my best friend, Judith, for as long as I can remember, and like me she is a complete bookworm. We've been on holiday and on day trips up and down the country, but our favourite finds when shopping are the bookshops, from big chain stores to teeny-tiny second-hand shops. So when she recently went on holiday to Canada, it is only natural that the souvenirs she brought back for me included books. The Girl From Away trilogy was a tatty old ex-library book with stamps, old-fashioned ticket pocket and the opening times of the local swimming pool still visible in light pencil. I love a book that's picked up some history along the way, and especially one that has crossed the Atlantic.

The Girl From Away

The Girl From Away introduces Andrea, a teenage Toronto girl who pays an unwilling visit to Anderson's Arm, a small fishing community in Newfoundland, while having to come to terms with her mother's remarriage. Andrea spends the Christmas holidays with her aunt Pearl and cousins - her uncle Cyril is away working on an oil tanker, and though they remain cheerful, Pearl and her children are clearly anxious about him. The Girl From Away is a lovely portrait of a small community, where everybody knows everyone else and pulls together in a crisis. The setting came vividly to life, and felt identifiably Canadian. The three-in-one edition of the book was published in 2002, but I recognised the stories as being originally written earlier, in the 1990s. There were details that felt old-fashioned, but yet not so much so that they were strange to me. Most noticable was the personal cassette player that was Andrea's birthday present, and the story itself was reminiscent of the books I read when I was a child.

The French Isles

Book two of the trilogy sees Andrea back with her cousins, aunt and uncle - now safely home. A trip to collect Uncle Cyril's fishing boat finds Cyril, Andrea and the Cousins at St Pierre and Miquelon, islands which are located near Newfoundland but are actually French. Not French Canadian; owned by France. Andrea takes a job working at a bed-and-breakfast hotel, and befriends the owner's son, Philippe. After the drama which led Andrea and her family to St Pierre, the story is fairly gentle and uneventful, with a little hint of a youthful romance. It does help if you have a working knowledge of the French language, as there is a lot of dialogue which is left untranslated.

Last Summer in Louisbourg

Andrea is now fifteen and is vacationing in Cape Breton for the summer job to die for! She is childminding at the Fortress of Louisbourg, a job which involves dressing up in period costume and doing a fair bit of historical re-enactment. While working, she is offered a bit part in a film which is shot on location.  Again, Mowat sets the scene beautifully, and I envied Andrea her summer job. It was amusing to see how quickly the novelty of working on a movie set wore off, however, and Andrea came across as rather a sulky teenager, anxious that her costume makes her look silly, and objecting when extra filming spoiled her day's plans. I was a bit disappointed not to see the Newfoundland family this time around, or to hear anything else of Philippe, but there were some great new characters introduced: landlady Jackie and Andrea's verbose roommate Justine, as well as the cast and crew of the film, and Andrea discovers a family secret.

The Girl From Away trilogy is a lovely, easy holiday read ideal for girls aged about 9-12 years old.