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Aunt Philippa and the Men
She welcomed me kindly but absent-mindedly, her thoughts evidently being concentrated on the problem of getting my trunk home. I had only the one, and in Montreal it had seemed to be of moderate size; but on the platform of Copely station, sized up by Aunt Philippa's merciless eye, it certainly looked huge.
- GenresShort Stories
26 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
L.M. Montgomery
1,986 books13.4k followersLucy Maud Montgomery was a Canadian author, best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908.
Montgomery was born at Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Nov. 30, 1874. She came to live at Leaskdale, north of Uxbridge Ontario, after her wedding with Rev. Ewen Macdonald on July 11, 1911. She had three children and wrote close to a dozen books while she was living in the Leaskdale Manse before the family moved to Norval, Ontario in 1926. She died in Toronto April 24, 1942 and was buried at Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.
Montgomery was born at Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Nov. 30, 1874. She came to live at Leaskdale, north of Uxbridge Ontario, after her wedding with Rev. Ewen Macdonald on July 11, 1911. She had three children and wrote close to a dozen books while she was living in the Leaskdale Manse before the family moved to Norval, Ontario in 1926. She died in Toronto April 24, 1942 and was buried at Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 12, 2021
So yes, even though I was at first more than a trifle worried that Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1915 short story Aunt Philippa and the Men would be too much about courtship and about Ursula Goodwin constantly whining about having quarrelled with and now being separated from her boyfriend, from her beau Mark Fenwick, well, in particular the character of first person narrator Ursula’s Aunt Philippa, she really does make me massively smile. For indeed, I simply can only and massively so adore how L.M. Montgomery has in Aunt Philippa and the Men rendered Ursula aunt, that Aunt Philippa is basically tough, no-nonsense, but obviously also with a heart of pure gold and deep womanly understanding (and that even though Aunt Philippa herself has seemingly not much use for most men, she is not only willing to help Ursula Goodwin and Mark Fenwick reconcile and tie the proverbial knot, she is also more than willing to tackle Ursula’s father and that he only disproves of Mark as a son-in-law and husband for his daughter because he himself has had political issues with Mark’s father).
Delightful, descriptive and imbued with both sweetness and also rather much humour is Aunt Philippa and the Men and with a lovely and very much personally appreciated “happy ending” for Ursula and Mark (and perhaps also a tiny bit for Aunt Philippa herself, as in my opinion, she helping to reunite Ursula and Mark and getting them hitched so to speak in spite of the obstacles set in place by in particular Ursula’s father and Ursula being too afraid of her father to elope with Mark, this might also to a certain extent heal Philippa’s own pain and regret at having refused to elope and get married in her youth). And yes, the only reason why my rating for Aunt Philippa and the Men is not five stars is that I kind of do want to know a bit more detail about Aunt Philippa’s own thwarted romance and why she refused to elope and rather do wish that L.M. Montgomery had ended Aunt Philippa and the Men with a detailed description of this, of Aunt Philippa and the man with whom she refused to run away and get married.
Delightful, descriptive and imbued with both sweetness and also rather much humour is Aunt Philippa and the Men and with a lovely and very much personally appreciated “happy ending” for Ursula and Mark (and perhaps also a tiny bit for Aunt Philippa herself, as in my opinion, she helping to reunite Ursula and Mark and getting them hitched so to speak in spite of the obstacles set in place by in particular Ursula’s father and Ursula being too afraid of her father to elope with Mark, this might also to a certain extent heal Philippa’s own pain and regret at having refused to elope and get married in her youth). And yes, the only reason why my rating for Aunt Philippa and the Men is not five stars is that I kind of do want to know a bit more detail about Aunt Philippa’s own thwarted romance and why she refused to elope and rather do wish that L.M. Montgomery had ended Aunt Philippa and the Men with a detailed description of this, of Aunt Philippa and the man with whom she refused to run away and get married.
February 17, 2025
nrtc
3 stars & 3/10 hearts. Aunt Philippa is doubtless the ancestor of Miss Cornelia from the later Anne books. She’s also like Mrs. Rachel Lynde a little. Anyhow, she’s quite funny and enjoyable. Mark and Ursula are very nice, and overall it’s an enjoyable story.
Content: a few stories are mentioned of suicide & digging up a dead person.
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘What will Father say?’ I questioned.
“‘Lots o’ things,’ conceded Aunt Philippa grimly. ‘But I don't see as it matters when neither you nor me’ll be there to have our feelings hurt. I’ll write a few things to your father. He hasn't got much sense. He ought to be thankful to get a decent young man for his son-in-law in a world where most every man is a wolf in sheep's clothing. But that's the men for you.’ And that was Aunt Philippa for you.”
3 stars & 3/10 hearts. Aunt Philippa is doubtless the ancestor of Miss Cornelia from the later Anne books. She’s also like Mrs. Rachel Lynde a little. Anyhow, she’s quite funny and enjoyable. Mark and Ursula are very nice, and overall it’s an enjoyable story.
Content: a few stories are mentioned of suicide & digging up a dead person.
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘What will Father say?’ I questioned.
“‘Lots o’ things,’ conceded Aunt Philippa grimly. ‘But I don't see as it matters when neither you nor me’ll be there to have our feelings hurt. I’ll write a few things to your father. He hasn't got much sense. He ought to be thankful to get a decent young man for his son-in-law in a world where most every man is a wolf in sheep's clothing. But that's the men for you.’ And that was Aunt Philippa for you.”
August 30, 2021
I didn't like the beginning of the story and figured I'd hate the whole thing. I chalked it up as another male-hating story, but I'm so glad I stuck with it because the ending was awesome.
January 24, 2020
A funny short story with an unexpected end.
July 14, 2020
A beautiful tale which takes you through the serene country sides of Canada. A story well narrated about passing on one’s wisdom to the next generation.
January 10, 2026
“Aunt Philippa and the Men” initially feels like a familiar Montgomery setup—eccentric relative, social expectations gently teased—but it gradually reveals a sharper intelligence beneath its warmth. Aunt Philippa is not merely quirky; she is quietly subversive.
What struck me was how confidently the story refuses conventional romantic arcs. Aunt Philippa’s indifference to male approval is not defensive or reactionary. It is simply uninterested. That neutrality felt refreshing.
She does not reject men out of bitterness, nor does she secretly long for validation. She lives otherwise.
Montgomery’s tone is affectionate without being patronizing. Aunt Philippa is allowed dignity without being idealized. Her choices are not framed as heroic; they are practical. Reading this, I felt Montgomery gently expanding the emotional vocabulary available to women characters.
What lingered was the story’s insistence that fulfillment need not follow prescribed routes. Aunt Philippa’s life is not smaller for lacking romance—it is simply shaped differently. Montgomery treats that difference as legitimate rather than compensatory.
There is humour here, but it is generous. The men are not villains; they are irrelevant. That irrelevance is the story’s quiet triumph. It imagines a female subjectivity that does not orient itself around refusal or longing, but around self-sufficiency.
“Aunt Philippa and the Men” stayed with me because it normalizes independence without spectacle. It suggests that the most radical choice is sometimes the least dramatic one: to live without explaining yourself.
Recommended.
What struck me was how confidently the story refuses conventional romantic arcs. Aunt Philippa’s indifference to male approval is not defensive or reactionary. It is simply uninterested. That neutrality felt refreshing.
She does not reject men out of bitterness, nor does she secretly long for validation. She lives otherwise.
Montgomery’s tone is affectionate without being patronizing. Aunt Philippa is allowed dignity without being idealized. Her choices are not framed as heroic; they are practical. Reading this, I felt Montgomery gently expanding the emotional vocabulary available to women characters.
What lingered was the story’s insistence that fulfillment need not follow prescribed routes. Aunt Philippa’s life is not smaller for lacking romance—it is simply shaped differently. Montgomery treats that difference as legitimate rather than compensatory.
There is humour here, but it is generous. The men are not villains; they are irrelevant. That irrelevance is the story’s quiet triumph. It imagines a female subjectivity that does not orient itself around refusal or longing, but around self-sufficiency.
“Aunt Philippa and the Men” stayed with me because it normalizes independence without spectacle. It suggests that the most radical choice is sometimes the least dramatic one: to live without explaining yourself.
Recommended.
November 4, 2020
Im never reading this book again. I’m very tired of reading “but that’s men for ya.”
Its not that it was a bad book, just that it wasn’t one that struck me in style, context, word choice, or plot.
The end was unexpected, but still uninteresting to me.
Its not that it was a bad book, just that it wasn’t one that struck me in style, context, word choice, or plot.
The end was unexpected, but still uninteresting to me.
June 25, 2025
A quite amusing story of an aunt who is against men, but who helps her niece when the chips are down.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews