Harvesting Thistles: The Textual Garden of L.M. Montgomery

by Mary Henley Rubio (Editor), Gabriella Åhmansson (Contributor), Catherine Ross (Contributor)

This collection of essays calls for new interpretive strategies in reading the texts of Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942), author of Anne of Green Gables (1908). Long overlooked in academic critical discourse as a writer of popular and children's fiction, Montgomery is reread here in the light of gender and cultural studies, as well as of autobiographical theory. The first section of essays places Montgomery and her texts (including her journals) in a literary and cultural context; the second section focuses on selected individual novels. In these essays by an international group of scholars from the United Kingdom, the USA, Scandinavia, and Canada, Montgomery is established as an immensely influential writer who has gained and maintained a world-wide readership throughout the twentieth century.
A best-selling writer in her native Canada and throughout the world, Montgomery published some 20 books, over 500 short stories and over 500 poems during her lifetime. At her death she left 10 volumes of unpublished 500-page journals, covering the years from 1889-1942, whose recent publication has added immensely to our understanding of the interior life of a woman of her era.

Genres: Essays, Canada, Nonfiction

185 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

No, I have not actually read every single article presented in Harvesting Thistles: The Textual Garden of L.M. Montgomery in depth. However, I have skimmed through the essays, and I did thoroughly peruse editor Mary Henley Rubio's introduction, as well as Owen Dudley Edwards' article on Rilla of Ingleside and Marie Campbell's musings on the Emily of New Moon trilogy. And this has certainly given me (at least in my opinion) enough information and knowledge regarding Harvesting Thistles: The Textual Garden of L.M. Montgomery to claim that this 1994 essay collection is not only interesting and enlightening, but is also a book that happily succeeds with pointing out and demonstrating that L.M. Montgomery should not simply be considered a children's author, that her work is nuanced, deep and readable by both young readers and adults (and on multiple textual and thematic levels as well).

And while I do think that Mary Henley Rubio's introduction might sometimes focus a bit too much on the so called thistles and stings of social satire in L.M. Montgomery's fiction, considering that the majority of earlier criticism has tended to not only denigrate L.M. Montgomery's writing as either simplistic children's fare or as trashy romance and wish fulfillment, it sure is majorly refreshing that basically ALL of the articles featured in Harvesting Thistles: The Textual Garden of L.M. Montgomery point out that beneath the seemingly happily ever after marriages of beloved heroines like Anne Shirely and Emily Byrd Starr, there exists the cold realty of women's lives and careers being subjugated and disregarded (that after Anne Shirely marries Glibert Blythe, she not only has to give up teaching, but also, her personality becomes dim, motherly and increasingly unimaginative, that Emily Byrd Starr's writing will probably play second fiddle to Teddy Kent's career as a painter and that at the end of Rilla of Ingleside all the maturing and self sufficiency Rilla has learned during the pain and tragedy on the Canadian home front during WWI, well, as soon as returned from the trenches Kenneth Ford comes calling and proposes, Rilla becomes a shy, naive and inactive maiden again, and can only accept Kenneth with a cute but also totally subservient lisping reply).

And thus, most definitely, for me (and even though there are articles found inHarvesting Thistles: The Textual Garden of L.M. Montgomery with which I have agreed and ones I have found a bit problematic), Harvesting Thistles: The Textual Garden of L.M.Montgomery is definitely and solidly four stars and that I do much appreciate that none of presented essays ever try to push L.M. Montgomery into the limiting and limited sphere of being only a children's and only a romance author.

[Eeyore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much Montgomery, not enough thistle. Very disappointing.

[Carrie]

Refreshing.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A number of really interesting essays about L.M. Montgomery's fiction and journals.