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
greatness
Plucky 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.
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