I've seen tv-versions of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, but I have never actually read the books. However, that didn't stop me from wanting to read this book about Marilla Cuthbert, before Anne came into her and Matthew's lives.
Marilla Cuthbert is only thirteen-years-old when her whole life is turned upside down. Her beloved mother dies in childbirth and she's suddenly the one responsible for all of the tasks of a farm wife: cooking, sewing, and overseeing Green Gables. Of course, she has her brother Matthew and her father Hugh, but the loss of her mother will stay with her for the rest of her life. As she grows up, Green Gables is her main focus, but friends and family will draw her out into the world. And, she will even find that there may be someone out there who could be more than and a friend...
Reading MARILLA OF GREEN GABLES was such a wonderful experience. You know that feeling when a book is just right for you? The right moment for the right book? It was so for me. I had just finished a very heavy book, and reading this was like breathing fresh air. Not that this book is fluffy as cotton candy, it has its dark and sad moments. It was so rewarding to read a story set in Avonlea and get to know Marilla as a young woman growing up. Even though I know some facts about her life before Anne came into her life, it was wonderful to see Marilla's own story told. MARILLA OF GREEN GABLES turned out to be such a wonderful gem and I can't wait to read more books by Sarah McCoy.
A bold, heartfelt tale of life at Green Gables . . . before
Anne: A marvelously entertaining and moving historical
novel, set in rural Prince Edward Island in the nineteenth
century, that imagines the young life of spinster Marilla
Cuthbert, and the choices that will open her life to the
possibility of heartbreakβand unimaginable
greatnessPlucky and ambitious, Marilla Cuthbert is
thirteen years old when her world is turned upside down. Her
beloved mother has dies in childbirth, and Marilla suddenly
must bear the responsibilities of a farm wife: cooking,
sewing, keeping house, and overseeing the day-to-day life of
Green Gables with her brother, Matthew and father,
Hugh.In Avonleaβa small, tight-knit farming town on
a remote islandβlife holds few options for farm girls. Her
one connection to the wider world is Aunt Elizabeth βIzzyβ
Johnson, her motherβs sister, who managed to escape from
Avonlea to the bustling city of St. Catharines. An
opinionated spinster, Aunt Izzyβs talent as a seamstress has
allowed her to build a thriving business and make her own
way in the world.Emboldened by her aunt, Marilla
dares to venture beyond the safety of Green Gables and
discovers new friends and new opportunities. Joining the
Ladies Aid Society, she raises funds for an orphanage run by
the Sisters of Charity in nearby Nova Scotia that secretly
serves as a way station for runaway slaves from America. Her
budding romance with John Blythe, the charming son of a
neighbor, offers her a possibility of future
happinessβMarilla is in no rush to trade one farm life for
another. She soon finds herself caught up in the dangerous
work of politics, and abolitionβjeopardizing all she
cherishes, including her bond with her dearest John Blythe.
Now Marilla must face a reckoning between her dreams of
making a difference in the wider world and the small-town
reality of life at Green Gables.
No excerpt available.
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