When Eric Marshall arrives on Prince Edward Island to become a substitute schoolmaster, he has a bright future in his wealthy family's business. Bu...
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Apr 20, 2010
Abigail
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Published in 1910, Kilmeny of the Orchard was L.M. Montgomery's third novel, following upon her beloved children's classic Anne of Green Gables (1908), and its first sequel, Anne of Avonlea (1909). A thoroughly romantic tale, it owes more - in both style and narrative content - to the sentimental novels of the late nineteenth-century, than any of her other works. The tale of Eric Marshall - a wealthy young college graduate who takes a teaching position on Prince Edward Island to oblige a friend,
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Dec 25, 2010
Hope
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This book was really short, and hence, this review will probably be short.
First, L.M. Montgomery was not at her best in this novella. This had none of the almost unconscious charm of the famed Anne of Green Gables or even The Blue Castle (which was slightly shallow, yes, but still charming). Perhaps it's because neither Anne nor Valancy, the heroines of those stories, were particularly pretty. But they were witty and intelligent and their peculiarities and absurdities made them st More...
First, L.M. Montgomery was not at her best in this novella. This had none of the almost unconscious charm of the famed Anne of Green Gables or even The Blue Castle (which was slightly shallow, yes, but still charming). Perhaps it's because neither Anne nor Valancy, the heroines of those stories, were particularly pretty. But they were witty and intelligent and their peculiarities and absurdities made them st More...
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Oct 23, 2010
Anne
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Eric Marshall is a calm, straight-laced young man set to commit his future to business. Because he isn’t opposed to it. But when his friend, Larry West, has to duck out early on a teaching contract—due to health problems—Eric agrees to step into the breach and plunge into the abyss of the Lindsey schoolhouse on Prince Edward Island.
Little does he know that on P.E.I. waits a girl with jet black hair and sea green eyes. A girl who believes she is ugly and roams the orchard, speaking t More...
Little does he know that on P.E.I. waits a girl with jet black hair and sea green eyes. A girl who believes she is ugly and roams the orchard, speaking t More...
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Nov 14, 2011
Liesel
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This is an old-fashioned, predictable and saccharine romance that is not L.M. Montgomery's best work. Her descriptions of the orchard were captivating and it became my favorite character. The actual people? Not likable to me at all. I loved Anne and Emily, so was not prepared for Kilmeny. Yeah, we get it she is gorgeous and innocent (Eric's on and on swooning over her because of these two superficial things are gag-worthy.) I felt like she was the "poor sweet beautiful disabled girl,"
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Jun 08, 2011
To help out a friend who has fallen ill, 24 year old Eric takes a job teaching in the sleepy little town of Lindsay. One day he encounters the most beautiful girl he has every seen playing the violin in an old orchard. Her name is Kilmeny Gordon, and she has been unable to speak since birth. As Eric and Kilmeny fall in love, Eric sets out to learn the secrets of her past and make Kilmeny his wife...
This short novella (It's less than 200 pages) was written by L.M Montgomery in 1910. I More...
This short novella (It's less than 200 pages) was written by L.M Montgomery in 1910. I More...
Mar 26, 2011
Xuelin
rated it:
I downloaded this book from Project Gutenberg,expecting Kilmeny to be something like Anne or Emily, two of my favourite heroines of all time. Well, Kilmeny was nothing like the aforementioned two, although she did possess a special charm of her own. I loved the fact that she was so innocent and childlike, although it is quite hard to believe that she had never looked into a mirror in her entire life. And I also like the link between her and the orchard--would her charm fade away when she is ruth
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Nov 27, 2010
Kiera
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Oct 31, 2010
A friend gave me this book years and years ago--I think it's a first edition. On Anne Osterlund's recco, I took it down to look at it.
I can see why many love it still--the true star of the book is the scenery, rather than the characters. The way that Montgomery writes about nature shifts you to liminal space, within a heartbeat of the numinous.
The reason, though, that I hadn't reread it in all these years was because the basic plot feels like a short story stretched out into More...
I can see why many love it still--the true star of the book is the scenery, rather than the characters. The way that Montgomery writes about nature shifts you to liminal space, within a heartbeat of the numinous.
The reason, though, that I hadn't reread it in all these years was because the basic plot feels like a short story stretched out into More...
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Sep 13, 2010
Audra
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Feb 07, 2012
Whitney
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Lyrical prose and a sweet, gentle love story full of lusciously descriptive settings and emotion with a dash of everyday humor to make it all more human. How I love L.M. Montgomery.
(I caution readers with modern tastes that as advanced a writer as she was for her time L.M. Montgomery was still a product of that time and some of her social mores come out in her descriptions of characters from other ethnic backgrounds (in this case a young boy who seems to come from an Italian backgroun More...
(I caution readers with modern tastes that as advanced a writer as she was for her time L.M. Montgomery was still a product of that time and some of her social mores come out in her descriptions of characters from other ethnic backgrounds (in this case a young boy who seems to come from an Italian backgroun More...
Jul 20, 2009
Elissa
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Jan 22, 2011
Melissa
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Eric Marshall has accepted a teaching post in the quaint village of Lindsay, with the intent of staying but the few brief months to finish the term of the previous head master. While exploring the surrounding country side, Eric discovers an abandoned apple orchard that so betwixts him, he lingers to enjoy its beauty. After but a few minutes his meditative state is startled by the strings of a violin, played beautifully by an enchanting, mistress who is also enjoying the orchard. As Eric appro
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Jan 19, 2011
Jo
rated it:
I really enjoyed this. I'd tried to read it before, but hadn't managed to get into it, but this time I did. It's a total fairytale - rich man, poor girl, huge stumbling block in the way of marriage, not to mention the characterless bad guy with evil designs, near disaster, followed by everyone living happily ever after. But there's nothing wrong with a good fairytale every now and then! It does a little more depth than normal fairytales, though - there's lots of backstory that doesn't get re
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Jul 11, 2011
Tracey
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This one didn’t live up to the memory I had of reading it as a tween. It was an early book of L.M.M.’s; boy takes over teaching position for sick friend, boy hears beautiful violin playing from an orchard, boy falls rump over teakettle in love with violinist, and is dismayed to find she is a fiercely protected mute girl who has hardly been out of her house since she was small. From then on it is a pitched battle as the hero seeks a way to make Kilmeny whole, and to make her his. In this one the
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Dec 20, 2007
Chelsey
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This little book is so unassuming, sitting on my shelf, with its battered corners. It is so very well-loved. I bought it when I was probably eleven or so and put it away for a while, and then it became one of my favorite love stories in the world. It's just so simple and elegant and beautiful.
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Jun 28, 2011
Stacy
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I don't know about LMM's outstanding understanding of human nature, but, not for the first time, I was shocked by the racism exhibited by one of my favourite children's authors. The first time this happened to me, I was reading Gene Stratton Porter; LMM's racism is kind and gentle compared to the former, but it still sickens me. In a place where looks play such a huge role, we should have suspected that Neil Gordon's dark, foreign looks would leave him open to scathing criticism. Of course, it g
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Feb 02, 2012
Libby
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Feb 02, 2011
Shala
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This showed up for free or nearly so for my Kindle, and I loved Anne of Green Gables as a teenager so I gave it a try. Although I may be remembering the Anne of Green Gables series too fondly, this story didn't live up to what Montgomery was capable of. The love story was predictable, and the language at times degenerated into sentimental tripe. Although distrust of foreigners was part of the times in which she wrote, encountering it so openly in her descriptions of Neil Gordon was disappointing
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Jun 16, 2011
Josephine
rated it:
I was in the mood for a good clean romance after reading all this heavy duty non-fiction lately and this book was just what I was looking for. It is the first L.M. Montgomery book I have read and her writing style was quite different from what I'm used to. It was jumpy and just cut straight to the point and I kind of liked it. The book was predictable but I still had a smile on my face through most of it. I think I want to read more of her books now.
My favorite line in the book was on page More...
My favorite line in the book was on page More...
Jun 20, 2011
Val
rated it:
After reading the "Great Canadians" biography, I knew I had to read the L.M. Montgomery books that I had not read before...this is the first. It's shorter than the Anne or Emily books, and the characters are definitely not as well developed. It was a very quick read. I enjoyed it mostly for the familiarity of Montgomery's writing; the story didn't really grab me. I was also somewhat frustrated at Montgomery's dismissal of a male orphan character (she is usually very sympathetic with he
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Aug 11, 2009
Libby
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I read it last night. The only other books I have read are Anne, Emily, Jane Of Lantern Hill,Chronicles of Avonlea, The Road To Yesterday and The Doctor's Sweetheart, and compared to those this story seemed a lot plainer than those. Also--the axe? And speaking at the end? I would have liked it better if Kilmeny overcame her lack of confidence and realised that Eric loved her, and didn't care if she couldn't speak. But that would have made the story too long Roll Eyes
It was OK, but no More...
It was OK, but no More...
Apr 23, 2009
Emmie
rated it:
Definitely a third-rate Montgomery work. It has the romanticized description of PEI and the somewhat facile love story all fans look for in her work, but the characters lack depth and there doesn't really seem to be much of a plot. I would recommend it only to someone who has read the truly GREAT L.M. Montgomery books and who therefore won't mistake this novelette to be characteristic of her oeuvre. Did I just say oeuvre in a review? Shame on pretentious me. Read the Anne or the Emily books
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Apr 17, 2011
Rachel
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This was such a sweet, quaint little novella. Definitely not Montgomery's best work, but it put a smile on my face and was a quick read. A typical romance, in which the career-driven hero who isn't searching for love falls for the mute girl purely because of her beauty and innocence. Yes, it's shallow, but remember that this was published in 1910! Sadly, because of the predictability of the story and the obvious racism expressed towards the adopted Italian son, I don't think that this story will
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Jul 08, 2009
Merritt
rated it:
2 1/2 Stars. This was a sweet little story. Fairly predictable, and fairly well written. It had some great plot twist things. But, sadly, there were some major drawbacks.
#1. I felt kind of annoyed that everything ended SO perfectly and SO coincidentally and everything was fixed SO perfectly happily ever after. UGH.
#2. The "Beauty" thing. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't mind when characters are beautiful. In fact, I like it in fairy tales. Prince Charming never More...
#1. I felt kind of annoyed that everything ended SO perfectly and SO coincidentally and everything was fixed SO perfectly happily ever after. UGH.
#2. The "Beauty" thing. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't mind when characters are beautiful. In fact, I like it in fairy tales. Prince Charming never More...
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Nov 04, 2009
Chandra
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I struggled with my rating on this romantic novel from one of my favorite authors of all time, but I have to conclude that I just can’t get past its outmoded ideas about race, gender and science. Not to mention it’s just not a very satisfying love story from someone who I consider to be a master of the genre. The love story of Kilmeny Gordon and Eric Marshall is a complete fantasy and not in a fun way, but instead in a manner that asks readers to completely suspend all common sense. Unfortunate
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Jul 03, 2011
Ashley
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Charming and captivating. Romantic and thrilling. I have read this book over and over, and I never get tired of it. Although I know what's going to happen, the book is so well written, the characters are so believable, and the romance is so compelling that I will never get tired of it. A light read, I pick it up when I'm tired of slogging through long and boring books, and I usually finish it in an afternoon. Highly recommended!!
Jun 12, 2010
JocelynRose
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Jun 06, 2011
Rebecca
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This is probably one of my least favorite of Montgomery's novels, but it still has that charm that all her books contain. I hadn't read this in such a long time that I couldn't remember the story line. I also picked up on a lot of little things, such as the prejudices of the time period, that I had never noticed before. Now I'm more excited than ever to do my thesis on Montgomery.
Jan 27, 2011
Westerville
rated it:
"Lovely and sweet. I love the last line, which is utterly right for ending a romance: Eric turned abruptly away to hide his emotion and on his face was a light as of one who sees a great glory widening and deepening down the vista of his future." - Jess, Adult Services Librarian
Reserve a library copy!
Reserve a library copy!
Jul 08, 2009
Bonnie
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I just loved this book. It ended with a sigh of pleasure from me. I liked the courage the main character had and the way the couple taught each other and made each other want to be better. That's the sense I got anyway. You would always want to be your best around someone like her. I love reading everything I've read so far from her.
