ANNE OF WINDY WILLOWS [Hardcover]

L. M. Montgomery (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1986

This is the fourth book about the red-haired Anne Shirley from Green Gables. Now a young woman and her romance with Gilbert Blythe beginning to flourish, Anne Shirley becomes Principal of Summerside High School. But Summerside is virtually ruled by the Pringle family, who don't want Anne at the school. It takes all of Anne's courage and tact, and the comfort she draws from the eccentric household at Windy Willows, to overcome local prejudice and confront the dreaded Pringles.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Angus & Robertson (1986)
• ISBN-10: 0207125457
• ISBN-13: 978-0207125454
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Lucy Maude Montgomery (1874-1942) was born on Prince Edward Island, Canada, the setting for Anne of Green Gables. She left to attend college, but returned to Prince Edward Island to teach. In 1911, she married the Reverend Ewan MacDonald. Anne of Green Gables, the first in a series of "Anne" books by Montgomery, was published in 1908 to immediate success and continues to be a perennial favorite.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming warm story, October 17, 2010

By 

Julia Shpak (NY, Brooklyn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anne of Windy Willows (Puffin Classics) (Paperback)

"Anne of Windy Willows" by L.M. Montgomery

L.M. Montgomery continues a fine story of Anne, the freckled red-haired orphan on the edge of womanhood, sustained by her romance with Gilbert. In this book, even more than ever, Anne shows her cheerful side and finds a way around the difficulties, bravely facing "another bend in the road" until she makes many new friends out of enemies. Anne's personality sparkled through every page - the kind, helpful and romantic Anne that always manages to see the best in people.

The book is full of great scenery and unforgettable characters. For me, Little Elizabeth and Rebecca Dew were the most enchanting. Little Elizabeth reminded me of Anne a lot with her appreciation for nature and beauty, her believing in the better Tomorrow. Rebecca Dew seemed like a tough "tomato" on the outside, but inside she was a "kindred spirit".

"Anne of Windy Willows" is a true classic that is not to be forgotten with time.

"Anne of Windy Willows" is a sequel to "Anne of Green Gables", "Anne of Avonlea" and "Anne of the Island". In "Anne's House of Dreams" and "Anne of Ingleside" admirers of Anne can follow her into her marriage with Gilbert.

Julia Shpak
Author of "Power of Plentiful Wisdom". Available on Amazon.
For more reviews visit my blog "Julia's Library" at: ForwardQuoteDOTcom

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anne's three years at Windy Willows, Summerside, April 22, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Anne of Windy Willows (Hardcover)

"Anne of Windy Willows" is the English title of "Anne of Windy Poplars," because apparently the concept of a Canadian tree was too much for their English brethren (remember, these are the same people who changed Harry Potter's philosopher's stone into a sorcerer's stone). This is definitely the most atypical book in the Anne of Green Gables Series by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Although it is sold as the fourth book in the series it was actually one of the last one written, originally being published in 1936. Anne Shirley, B.A., has taken a job away from Green Gables and as Principal of Summerside High School for three years while she waits for Gilbert Blythe to finish medical school so they can get married. So Gilbert is only present when Anne writes to him as Redmond College in Kingsport (although Montgomery tactfully omits the romantic part of her letters). However, despite these oddities, "Anne of Windy Willows" has sort of become the second most significant novel in the series since it provides the foundation for both sequels to the "Anne of Green Gables" movies, both the 1940's "Anne of Windy Poplars" (with Anne Shirley playing Anne Shirley) and the 1987 "Anne of Avonlea." The latter purports to cover the second through fourth volumes in the Green Gables series, but clearly it is this one that readers will most recognize when they watch.

Anne's adventures as a teacher in a town where the haughty Pringle family aligns against her is but one of the three major plotlines in the novel. There are also Anne's experiences at Windy Poplars on Spook's Lane, where the figure of Rebecca Drew figures largely in Anne's correspondence, along with Aunt Chatty and Aunt Kate. Then there is the mystery of little Elizabeth Grayson, who has been looking forward to Tomorrow as long as she can remember. You see, her mother died when she was born and her heartbroken father has gone off in search of Yesterday. Of course, Anne Shirley is no more likely to put up with something so wrong any more than she would Jen Pringle's fake illness or Katharine Brooke's sourness. There are also visits home each summer to visit Marilla and Mrs. Rachel back at Green Gables. Consequently, "Anne of Windy Willows" is not just an afterthought from Montgomery, who manages to make it fit into the grand scheme of Anne Shirley's life. But let's face the truth here: Anne Shirley as a mother is not the "real" Anne, so going back and reading about her continued misadventures before she married Gilbert is just fine

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anne on Her Own..., July 12, 2010

By 

D. S. Thurlow (Alaska) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Anne of Windy Willows (Puffin Classics) (Paperback)

"Anne of Windy Willows" is the fascinating fourth book in L.M. Montgomery's superb "Anne of Green Gables" series. Anne Shirley, fresh from college and newly engaged, moves to Summerside, Prince Edward Island, to be principal and teacher at the high school. This book is better known to American readers as the renamed and slightly edited "Anne of Windy Poplars."

Anne lives at Windy Willows, an old house with an entirely suitable personality, owned by two widows, Aunt Kate and Aunt Chatty, and kept by their opinionated cook and maid, Rebecca Dew. Anne's new job comes with challenges, including the subversive opposition of the powerful Pringle clan, her mysteriously antagonistic fellow teacher Katherine Brooke, and the neglected neighbor child Elizabeth Grayson. The narrative is episodic, as Anne encounters a variety of interesting characters, and includes a couple of eerie ghost stories. Fiancee Gilbert Blythe is off stage at medical school, the audience for long letters by Anne that carry much of the narrative. Vacation visits to Green Gables keep Anne's treasured foster family and friends in the picture.

This Anne of Windy Willows is well worth knowing. Grown into attractive womanhood and secure in Gilbert's love, the good-hearted Anne is newly self-aware of her ability to affect the people around her through her sympathetic personality and her ability to share friendship. With increasing confidence and sometimes unintended and hilarious effects, Anne will seek to influence for good purpose the lives of the needy souls she meets.

"Anne of Windy Willows" was written 15 years after "Rilla of Ingleside." Montgomery seamlessly integrates this novel into the series, giving us a rich portrait of a young and independent Anne before the responsibilities of wife and mother began to change her life. Montgomery indulges in just a few foreshadowings that will be recognized by Anne fans.

"Anne of Windy Willows" is very highly recommended to her fans of all ages.