Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

This seemed like the perfect book for summer.  A light, happy read, but with undoubted substance.  I hope you all read it and enjoy.

There is also a version with digital images of each page of the 1st edition which had illustrations.  Here are links to those illustrations:
Matthew brings Anne Home
Anne has words for Rachel Lynde
Anne's First Day at School
Anne breaks the slate over Gilbert's Head
Anne Walks the Ridge-pole
Gilbert Rescues "Elaine"

Anne and Diana
Gilbert walks Anne home (where she finally forgives him)

I'm sure I'd heard of it before, but my real introduction to Anne was in the Spring of 1999.  My mother had discovered she had cancer and as she was recuperating after her first surgery and getting ready to start chemotherapy a friend recommended she read Anne of Green Gables.  Mommy LOVED them all.  She even dreamt once that she was having tea with Anne.  They kept her hopeful and positive and we all honestly believe she lived longer out of sheer will.  With the books came the movies and we all watched those together as we peeled and processed apples (bumper crop that summer John and I lived there!).
John and I finally read them aloud together in the summer of 2007.  We, too, loved them all.  The last one is our favorite, but for different reasons.  He loves glimpse into the Canadian experience in World War I (which was fascinating) and  I loved it because it's about Anne's youngest daughter, Rilla. Being a youngest child I could identify with many of her concerns.  It is naturally a more serious book than the others and despite Rilla's happy ending it has plenty of heartbreak.
For those who have read the rest of the books, this is no surprise.  There is heartbreak in the them all which is part of what makes these books so good.  When tragedy strikes Anne puts it into words and somehow managed to cope and be hopeful.  

If you don't have a copy of the book you can read it online here.

There is a Lucy Maud Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island.
Here are some links to interesting pages there. . .

The Life of Lucy Maud Montgomery and a Time Line of her life

The Works of L.M. Montgomery (it's a lengthy list)

Teacher's Corner which looks well-worth exploring.

Heading up to PEI?  Here's some tourist information.

A brilliant sentiment from L.M. Montgomery!

The Official Movie Website.  They claim to have some lost footage in their video section!

For any who have not yet seen the movies the 1st two are a MUST.
The 3rd is a must NOT.  Geez what a mess!

What the what? What's wrong with this picture?

The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

This is a novel that I've often referred to as the grandfather of the English novel.  It has elements that seem so clearly those of Dickens or Austen and even the Bronte's and yet this novel came first. And he fits it all into 224 pages!

Oliver Goldsmith was born in Ireland in 1728 and died at the age of 43.  He wrote plays, poems and this novel.  He was friends with Samuel Johnson*, who, according to Wikipedia related the following about the sale of the The Vicar of Wakefield to a publisher.

"I received one morning a message from poor Goldsmith that he was in great distress, and, as it was not in his power to come to me, begging that I would come to him as soon as possible. I sent him a guinea, and promised to come to him directly. I accordingly went as soon as I was dressed, and found that his landlady had arrested him for his rent, at which he was in a violent passion: I perceived that he had already changed my guinea, and had a bottle of Madeira and a glass before him. I put the cork into the bottle, desired he would be calm, and began to talk to him of the means by which he might be extricated. He then told me he had a novel ready for the press, which he produced to me. I looked into it and saw its merit; told the landlady I should soon return; and, having gone to a bookseller, sold it for sixty pounds. I brought Goldsmith the money, and he discharged his rent, not without rating his landlady in a high tone for having used him so ill. ”  The novel was not published until 1766.

 I discovered that there are paintings of scenes from the book and so I included a few of those for fun.

*(For those who recognize the name Samuel Johnson but can't recall what he's known for, I'll help you out, since it was driving me crazy and I had to look it up myself.  "After nine years of work, Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755. It had a far-reaching effect on Modern English and has been described as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship."  He also annotated Shakespeare's plays and Rasselas and wrote A Journey toe the Western Islands of Scotland and what wkipedia describes as the massive and influential Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, a collection of biographies and evaluations of 17th- and 18th-century poets. 
Here's a painting of him reading the manuscript to the Vicar of Wakefield

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

Better late than never . . .
This is what we read last month with did lead to some very interesting discussions.

For any who had more to say or were unable to attend, here's a place to discuss:

 If you were facinated by this story here are some links that tell a bit about the history and debate of the story:

The Catholic Encyclopedia

About.com's writer, Jone Johnson Lewis tells why she thinks the story isn't true and that's ok.

Pope Joan: a Novel official website with links to a synopsis and excerpts of the novel, and information about the author.

And here's the movie trailer.

and a link to a clip on a 1972 version