Kilmeny of the Orchard

Such a cute book filled with all the adventures of Anne Blythe's children. Story after story of fun-filled afternoons in rainbow valley; definitely would recommend this to any child(or adult that loves Anne) that is looking for an entertaining read!

I should have trusted the mediocre reviews of this book. L.M. Montgomery's books are usually full of vibrant characters, action, and life. Kilmeny of the Orchard was flat, boring, and unbelievable. The only character who HAD a character was the villain.
Bottom line - don't waste your time and money.

Very good continuation to the story, albeit somewhat racist in places, and in fact more so than the previous books were. Unexpected n-word was very unexpected, let me tell you. I think I would recommend this book and this series to young adults who are aware that sort of racism is not okay anymore, as well as those with an interest in history who like to see how society and culture has changed over the years.

Excellent book and this particular copy was exactly what I was looking for and in excellent condition when it arrived. It is the special edition which has a biography of the author and a map of PEI. I only wish I had bought my entire Anne collection on the store.

Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1910 novel, "Kilmeny of the Orchard", is an unusual romance, set on the author's very own magic island of imagination, Prince Edward Island, Canada. A young college graduate named Eric Marshall takes a temporary job as a substitute teacher in the village of Lindsey. On an evening ramble, he discovers a neglected orchard, and a beautiful woman who plays the violin in a bewitching manner. The young woman, whose name is Kilmeny, has a tragic history and a stunning disability. The two will become friends. Eric will be moved to declare his intentions, but his love will face multiple obstacles: skeptical parents, a reluctant bride, a dangerous rival, and an interfering relative. Eric will have to prove himself worthy of Kilmeny in a dramatic conclusion.

According to Montgomery biographer Elizabeth Waterston, "Kilmeny of the Orchard" is an expanded version of a short story written in 1908. Montgomery was under some pressure to continue to publish following the success of "Anne of Green Gables" and its first sequel, "Anne of Avonlea." Kilmeny is not as well-developed as some of Montgomery's other novels, but it is likely to be enjoyed by her fans.

I love LM Montgomery, but this book bothered me. The frequent references to the heroine being "perfectly childlike" in her ignorance, and "unspoilt" by knowledge or experience of the world, was just plain creepy. It was weird that the hero wanted to keep her secluded, and seemed to like her better because she couldn't speak. Weird and creepy.

I love the way she describes people and places. I can see, hear, feel, smell and almost taste what I am reading. But she describes some of her characters as being narrow minded and prejudice....and ends up being almost as bad! I think that I am done with her books.

"Rainbow Valley" is the seventh novel in Lucy Maud Montgomery's superb "Anne of Green Gables" series. The fiesty red-haired orphan Anne Shirley of Green Gables has been married to Doctor Gilbert Blythe for fifteen wonderful years; they and their six children and unique maid of all work Susan Baker now live in the house called Ingleside, in the village of Glen St. Mary on Prince Edward Island.

As the story opens, Gilbert and Anne, just returned from Europe, reassemble their family at Ingleside. The biggest news is that the adjacent preacher's manse is newly occupied by absent-minded widower Reverend John Meredith, his four children, and an aging housekeeper. In the wooded play space they call Rainbow Valley, the adolescent Blythe and Meredith children will be quick to bond and as quick to get involved in various escapades together. The four Meredith children, who are raising themselves, are forever offending local sensibilities; the respectable Blythes will try to help.

"Rainbow Valley" is a change of pace in the "Anne" series, as Anne and Gilbert step into the background to allow Montgomery to work her considerable narrative magic with the Blythe and Meredith children. The principal drama will be the effort by many hands to remarry Reverend Meredith to a suitable woman who can mother his children. In the end, the meekest Meredith child will have the opportunity to make a quietly heroic sacrifice that may save the day.

"Rainbow Valley" is highly entertaining and highly recommended to "Anne" fans.

"Rainbow Valley" is the seventh novel in Lucy Maud Montgomery's superb "Anne of Green Gables" series. The fiesty red-haired orphan Anne Shirley of Green Gables has been married to Doctor Gilbert Blythe for fifteen wonderful years; they and their six children and unique maid of all work Susan Baker now live in the house called Ingleside, in the village of Glen St. Mary on Prince Edward Island.

As the story opens, Gilbert and Anne, just returned from Europe, reassemble their family at Ingleside. The biggest news is that the adjacent preacher's manse is newly occupied by absent-minded widower Reverend John Meredith, his four children, and an aging housekeeper. In the wooded play space they call Rainbow Valley, the adolescent Blythe and Meredith children will be quick to bond and as quick to get involved in various escapades together. The four Meredith children, who are raising themselves, are forever offending local sensibilities; the respectable Blythes will try to help.

"Rainbow Valley" is a change of pace in the "Anne" series, as Anne and Gilbert step into the background to allow Montgomery to work her considerable narrative magic with the Blythe and Meredith children. The principal drama will be the effort by many hands to remarry Reverend Meredith to a suitable woman who can mother his children. In the end, the meekest Meredith child will have the opportunity to make a quietly heroic sacrifice that may save the day.

"Rainbow Valley" is highly entertaining and highly recommended to "Anne" fans.

Anne and Gilbert are now the proud parents of six lively children -- sons Jem, Walter and Shirley; twins Nan and Di, and little Rilla. With the help of longtime maid Susan, Anne runs the busy home the family calls Ingleside, while Gilbert serves the community as doctor.

Meanwhile, the children have happy romps in Rainbow Valley, the area near their home which includes fields, woods, a brook and just about the most perfect place for games, quiet moments of reading or reflection, and meeting with their friends. Most recently, this includes the Merediths -- Faith, Una, Jerry and Carl. New to the community, the children live with their widowed father, who has come to be minister.

Despite their best efforts, the four are rather ragged and wild, much to the disapproval of the prim local residents, who have very specific ideas about how children ought to be. But it's just been too long since their mother died, and their father, while loving, spends his time with his thoughts in the clouds rather than the physical needs of his offspring.

Thus the quartet tries to raise itself, with often hilarious results. For instance, quick-witted Faith, upon seeing a poor village girl going barefoot in winter, rashly takes off her own stockings and shoes to give the girl -- not remembering that she hasn't another set for herself. Another time, poor Una, when the children decide to fast for their sins, ends up fainting clear off her pew in the middle of a church service.

The antics and tribulations of the Merediths intertwines and contrasts with those of the Blythes, primarily focusing upon the dreamy, sensitive poet Walter, twins Nan and Di, and eldest son Jem.

While Anne does make the occasional appearance in this volume, readers hoping for more of her life may be disappointed, as Montgomery focuses the majority of "Rainbow Valley" on the children. Nonetheless, it's an enjoyable read all on its own merits, and longtime "Anne" fans should be pleased to see how the lonely orphan girl who longed for family ended up surrounded by loved ones and thriving.

To say that I was disappointed with *Anne of Ingleside* - the sixth book in the *Anne Shirley* series, by L. M. Montgomery - would be an understatement. My review of that book details why it is my least favorite book in the series that I've read to date. It was with this in mind that I read the seventh book, *Rainbow Valley*, with some apprehension. I was willing to give it a try, because I was told by some friends how it was MUCH better than the abysmal (to my view) *Anne of Ingleside*. I can honestly say that, while not nearly as good a read as *Anne of Green Gables* or *Anne of Windy Poplars*, it was quite a fun book nonetheless.

This book, like the previous one, focuses on the children, the next generation, if you will, with the main difference being that for this book the Blythe children themselves are secondary characters. The "manse children" or the kids of the new Presbyterian minister, who is a widower of a few years are the actual primary protagonists, along with another character that also seems to displace the Blythe children in importance. This other character is a girl named Mary Vance, and boy is she ever a hoot!

The minister, John Meredith, has four children, Jerry, Carl, Faith and Una. These children get in so many scrapes reminiscent of what Anne got into in the first two books, but with them it's more because they have no firm hand guiding them. Mr. Meredith often has his head stuck in the clouds, and is very much unable to focus on present concerns. His wife really was a "help meet" for him, to quote Genesis, and without her, he has been lost. The children are not bad, just unsupervised and untaught in the way of decorum or proper manners.

The little children meet a young girl who ran away from her foster mother. This girl is, of course, the aforementioned Mary Vance. Her foster-mother, and her own relations before hand, were terribly abusive, and she is starving and in miserable condition as a scared run-away. The manse children take pity on her and help her, right under the nose of their father, who doesn't notice a blooming thing. Of course, the rest of the town notices, and points it out to him eventually.

John Meredith investigates, and finds out the foster-mother has since died, and eventually Mary ends up adopted by the least likely people of all.... Mrs. Marshall Eliot, aka, Miss Cornelia, and her husband! The family they make is almost worth the story by itself.

There is, of course, romance, as there usually is of some kind in an *Anne Shirley* book, but I won't get into that too much, as I can see I've spoiled enough already.

This book was far superior to the previous one with actual characterization, and wasn't *quite* as formulaic as the previous two were. It also showed the responsible, moral, and *decent* sides to Anne and Gilbert that were so visibly lacking in the previous volume. That said, I do have a problem with one aspect of the children.

It's just a small criticism, but the scene where little Walter avenges himself on a boy that mocks his mom and his friend, Faith Meredith, and everyone congratulates him for it, bothered me. That is appropriate enough to stand up for yourself. But little Faith acted snotty towards the boy in question, and hurt his feelings, so he retaliated, leading to the fight with Walter. No mention seems to be made of how this was wrong as well. For some reason, it made Walter and Faith like bullies, at least to me. It also seems to teach that sometimes it's good to be mean and snobbish to people, or put them down, if they "deserve it". Then again, this could just be my admitted pet peeve, as I absolutely DESPISE snobbishness.

The foreshadowing of the coming conflict in WWI is here once again. From a character, Ellen West, stating her disdain for the Kaiser of Germany, to the end pages where the boys talk of how they would fight and have grand adventures in some amorphous, fictional war, like in the stories. Here it is done more poetically and yet more somberly, to make a very melancholy, but somehow still satisfying ending.

Anne knows her sons' dreams of greatness, and humors them as she reflects that the time of wars is gone. Man is past all of the foolishness, she thinks. She is sadly mistaken, as will be revealed in a few years, with the advent of the Great War. The ending of *Rainbow Valley* is particularly poignant in this regard, as Montgomery paints a picture of a time of innocence about to end.

*He* (Walter) *began to speak dreamily, partly because he wanted to thrill his companions a little, and partly because something apart from him seemed to be speaking through his lips.

"The Piper is coming nearer," he said, "he is nearer than he was that evening I saw him before. His long, shadowy cloak is blowing around him. He pipes - he pipes - and we must follow - Jem and Carl and Jerry and I - round and round the world. Listen - listen - can't you hear his wild music?"

The girls shivered.

"You know you're only pretending," protested Mary Vance, "and I wish you wouldn't. You make it too real. I hate that old Piper of yours."

But Jem sprang up with a gay laugh. He stood up on a hillock, tall and splendid, with his open brow and fearless eyes. There were thousands like him all over the land of the maple. Let the Piper come and welcome," he cried, waving his hand. "I'LL follow him gladly round and round the world."*

This part of the book struck a chord with me, perhaps because it was so much more thoughtful and respectfully written than the remonstrances on the subject of the Great War in the previous novel. Or perhaps because I can see myself in these fictional boys, as even as late as my early 20s, I harbored the same silly notions. The silly ideas that these fictional boys have - that all boys and men untouched by war keep, whether they admit it or not - that had to be knocked out of me by experiences. How we need our heroes and adventures! But how disastrous and life-changingly awful it is to us when our adventures are real, and we must be the heroes. Idealism and causes go out the window, to be replaced by cold, hard, unforgiving realities.

These fictional boys, like myself and all real-life boys and men who march to drums of battle or of necessity, we all march for adventure that is a shroud of mist quickly dispersed, and to the beat of the Pied Piper whose robes are of the color of Death. War is often necessary in our utterly sinful world until Christ redeems us and Creation at the final hour, but woe to them who yearn for the adventure of it. Our dreams are shattered, and we are left to pick up the pieces.

A moving and worthwhile book to read, and one that truly touched my heart.

Highly Recommended.

Kilmeny of the Orchard is the tale of Eric Marshall, who as a favor to a sick friend comes to the small town of Lindsay on Prince Edward Island to teach at the school. While walking one day, he wanders into a long forgotten orchard and hears beautiful violin music being played by a beguiling young lady, the book's namesake, Kilmeny. Frightened, Kilmeny flees the orchard and though Eric comes back the next night and then the next, she doesn't return. Disappointed and intrigued, he asks his landlady about the girl he has seen, not yet knowing her name, and in doing so learns the story of Kilmeny. Mute since birth, she lives sequestered at home with her aunt and uncle who the town considers odd because they keep to themselves, so no one in the town has ever laid eyes on her. Soon after that first meeting, she comes back to the orchard and a friendship between the two begins to bloom towards love.

I went into Kilmeny of the Orchard expecting a sweet love story, which is basically what I got, but I wanted to love the book and unfortunately only ended up finding it so-so. The writing was as lovely as you would expect from L.M. Montgomery and the descriptions brought a certain life to most scenes. However, while I enjoyed the story for the most part, I didn't become immersed into either it or the characters. This may have to due with how perfect both Eric and Kilmeny were and there was really no "impossible obstacles" to overcome (as the book put it). While I expected a slight fairy tale feel to the book, I was disappointed that there really wasn't depth to the overall story or the characters, especially whenever Eric thought about Kilmeny it was mostly to mention her looks or how innocent and without guile she was. Okay, so it's a new love and his first true love, but a little more interaction rather than rhapsodizing over her perfections would have been preferable. Because the book is a product of a different time and place, a few remarks about "foreigners", such as Neil Gordon who was born in Lindsay to Italian peddlers, Kilmeny's "defect", and other mindsets stood out. I wouldn't say they alienated me from the book but they occasionally took me out of the story. Even though I understand those views in context to the time this was written, it can still be a hard adjustment for a modern reader. So while this was at times a nice read, it's hardly something I'll remember back upon.

Eric Marshall, the son of a wealthy businessman is asked shortly after graduation by a Queenslea College colleague to teach in his place at a school located in Prince Edward Island (Canada) Under the pressure of high expectations by his father he decides to take the temporary diversion and enjoy his limited carefree days. He begins to settle into island life and finds much needed peace.
Soon after he meets Kilmeny Gordon, a sweet young, vibrant and talented girl. Her somewhat turbulent past and odd family relations keep her a secret and a hidden treasure of the town. Eric is enchanted and even after discovering she is mute he is determined to win her love.

The newly enhanced cover by Vintage Reader Collection instantly caught my eye. It is simply beautiful and captures the dreamy quality of Kilmeny perfectly. The story reads like a enchanting fairytale. The setting is vivdly projected and the love story endearing. Not having read any of the Anne of Green Gables series yet this has encouraged me to do so soon. A wonderful Canadian author!

"Rainbow Valley" is the seventh of Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" novels. It finds the former red-haired orphan Anne Shirley and husband Dr. Gilbert Blythe 15 years into their marriage, with six living children, ages thirteen to six. First published in 1919, the author moves Anne and Gilbert into the background to introduce the reader to the children, and the next-door-neighbor Meredith kids, as preparation for 1921's "Rilla of Ingleside", Montgomery's superb novel of the Great War homefront.

As was evident in "Anne of Green Gables", Montgomery had a gift for capturing the growing pains, small triumphs, schoolyard romances and inherent humor of childhood. The well-raised Blythe children will share their Rainbow Valley play area with the four Meredith children, sadly neglected by an absent-minded widower father, and with the mischevious runaway Mary Vance. Together, they will face a variety of misadventures at school, at church, at the local graveyard and in their respective homes. Perhaps the most pressing challenge will be the need to find a wife for the Reverend Meredith, who can also be a suitable mother for the Meredith children, a situation not resolved until the breathless final pages.

"Rainbow Valley" is very highly reocmmended to fans of Lucy Maud Montgomery and her "Anne of Green Gable" novels.

This 1910 LMM novel (before they were designated “Romances”) is a gently-paced stand-alone story whose protagonist is surprisingly a 25-year-old fellow--one Eric Marshall, destined for the family business on the mainland. But as in many LMM novels The Island Cure (Prince Edward Island, of course) proves the best for the lonely heart. Answering the call of a colleague to be an interim schoolmaster Eric Marshall arrives unsuspecting that his life will change—nay Begin--when he meets the delicate but mute Kilmeny—playing her violin in a beautiful orchard.
This child-woman of 18, who cannot speak, is totally naive of the world, shut up in her relatives’ gloomy house, and susceptible to any man with kindly or even evil intent.

The literary style is quaintly old-fashioned and the chapter titles themselves give broad hints as to the plot development. Certain features are definitely dated: men would not ramble so much with gushing descriptions of Nature in their letters to each other; many paragraphs of exposition re Kilmeny’s dark past are not separated by some physical action on the part of the intent listener. The author reveals or implies a certain distrust for the darker, foreign element (Italians in this case) and even finds gentle amusement in the speeches and ways of Scottish immigrants to maritime Canada. This latter book may be LMM’s subtle attempt at a Gothic novel—with the curse of muteness and gradually revealed psychological horrors re the sins of the fathers being visited unjustly on their innocent children. Despite the predictable, dramatic denouement this story will charm girls 13-73.

Rainbow Valley is the seventh book in L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series. It could almost be a stand-alone novel as there is very little of Anne, Gilbert, or their children. If you can get past the disappointment of not seeing very much of the Blythe's then you might enjoy Rainbow Valley. The story revolves around the Meredith's, the four children of a widowed Presbyterian minister. Anne and Gilbert's children play small parts, mostly in the background of the story.

Although the Meredith children certainly can be described as unusual, I didn't find anything particularly interesting about them. I'm afraid that L.M. Montgomery simply ran out of unique characters by the seventh book. I feel let down that the series has turned so far away from Anne. It makes me wonder if Montgomery believed that our adventures end when we grow up and get married. A spirited woman like Anne would definitely continue to grow and evolve as a person.

Taken outside of the series, Rainbow Valley is a beautifully written story - with the same graceful turns of phrase as the rest of the series, and full of drama and comedy. But when judged against it's predecessors it is a disappointment - with lackluster characters and a flat plot line. Quite uninteresting.

"Rainbow Valley" is the seventh novel in Lucy Maud Montgomery's superb "Anne of Green Gables" series. Red-haired orphan Anne Shirley has been married to Doctor Gilbert Blythe for fifteen wonderful years; they and their six children and unique maid of all work Susan Baker live in the house called Ingleside, in the village of Glen St. Mary on Prince Edward Island.

As the story opens, Gilbert and Anne, just returned from Europe, reassemble their family at Ingliside. Mrs. Marshall Elliot delivers the latest gossip to Anne, including the news that the preacher's manse is newly occupied by absent-minded widower Reverend John Meredith, his four children, and an aging housekeeper.

In the wooded play space they call Rainbow Valley, the adolescent Blythe and Meredith children are quick to bond and as quick to get involved in escapades together. The four Meredith children, who are raising themselves, are forever offending local sensibilities; the Blythes will try to help.

"Rainbow Valley" is a change of pace in the "Anne" series, as Anne and Gilbert step into the background to allow Montgomery to work her considerable narrative magic with the Blythe and Meredith children. The principal drama will be the effort by many hands to remarry Reverend Meredith to a suitable woman who can mother his children. In the end, the meekest Meredith child will make the quietly heroic sacrifice that saves the day.

"Rainbow Valley" is highly entertaining and highly recommended to "Anne" fans.

I really think the only reason not to find "Rainbow Valley" one of L. M. Montgomery's better novels in the Anne series is because it obviously has the least to do with Anne or her children. Once Anne finally married Gilbert in "Anne's House of Dreams" (1917), Montgomery seemed to be at a loss as what to do with her delightful red-headed orphan now that she was a mother. So when this book was written in 1919 she focused on the four Meredith children who beloned to new Presbyterian minister, John Meredith, who was a widower. I can certainly see where some readers would be less than pleased with this particular direction, but the scene near the end of the novel where little Una Meredith communes with her late mother's wedding dress before going off to get her father a wife is as touching as anything Montgomery ever wrote.

To be clear, "Rainbow Valley" is the fifth of the original six Anne books written by Montgomery, which ended in 1920 with "Rilla of Ingleside." It would not be until 1936 that she would write "Anne of Windy Poplars," which became the fourth book in the series and took us back to when Anne was engaged to Gilbert and waiting for him to finish medical school. In 1939 she wrote her final novel, "Anne of Ingleside," which is the least of the Anne books, taking place before "Rainbow Valley" and engaging in some heavy handed foreshadowing as to what would happen to her characters. This 1919 book is dedicated: "To the memory of Goldwin Lapp, Robert Brookes and Morley Shier who made the supreme sacrifice that the happy valleys of their home land might be kept sacred from the ravage of the invader." So clearly Montgomery was thinking of the next book she would write, that would take place during the First World War.

At this point in time Anne Shirley has been married to Gilbert Blythe for 15 years and is now the mother of six children: James (called Jem), Walter, Nan, Diana (Di), Shirley, and Marilla (Rilla). The Mrs. and the Doctor return home to Four Winds Harbor from a trip to Europe and discover the new minister and his four children: Jerry, Faith, Una and Carl. Without a mother and a father given over to deams, the manse children tend to run a bit wild. However, it seems that when they try to do their very best, it occasions the most local gossip, and the children are worried they will cost their father his job. Of course the Meredith and Blythe children become good friends, and the manswe children have Anne's stamp of approval, which is good enough for us. Two major plots in the novel involve Mary Vance, an orphan girl who finds an unexpected home and continues to cause trouble for all concerned, and Rosemary West, a young woman who John Meredith falls for but whose sister Ellen does not want to be alone and causes romantic complications that Una needs to iron out in the end.

All in all, "Rainbow Valley" reminds me more of "The Story Girl" and "The Golden Road" than any of the other Anne books, with the Meredith children having a series of humorous misadventures. I am also impressed because as you can tell from the ending when Walter Blythe speaks of "The Piper," that Montgomery is already committed to writing about what happens to these children during World War I in her next Anne book, "Rilla of Ingleside." Even though it is atypical "Rainbow Valley" is my second favorite book in the Anne series and I am the proud owner of a first edition copy with the green book cover and the illustration by M.L. Kirk of not Anne but rather Rosemary West, captioned "Rosemary West stepped aside from teh by-path and stood in that spell-weaving place" (page 131).

If you like sweet, gentle stories, this could be the book for you. Kilmeny of the Orchard is more like a long short story or novela than Montgomery's other works - there isn't any real deviation from the main plotline of the romance, or a great deal of character fleshing-out, and it may be a little too melodramatic for some. Her usual humour comes through in some passages, though - poking a little fun at the small-town people.
The story is entirely from the point of view of Eric, who is dabbling in a little small-town teaching, so the character of Kilmeny is not fully explored (unlike Anne and her other female protagonists). Kilmeny is seen through the eyes of a besmitten youth, and may seem rather too good to be true.
Also, some people may be offended by turn of the century attitudes. What must be remembered is that this book was written for another time, when political correctness had not yet been invented. Italians were firey-tempered; a hired boy, even one raised by your family, is not the sort for a well-bred lass to consider; children born out of wedlock were a shame and a black mark on the family; and, disabilities made the sufferer a cripple or a defective. The small-town people of the story are very traditional, too, and also quite superstitious.
I found Eric to be rather more like a young girl's fantasy hero rather than any man that I've met, but he was quite likeable. (A young person's Mr Darcy?) Overall, the story is light, fun, and very sweet. If you aren't in the mood for heavy realism, it is a pleasant change.

_Kilmeny of the Orchard_ is a very short novel, not one of L. M. Montgomery's better known (and better!) _Anne of Green Gables_ books. This story concerns a young man, Eric Marshall, heir to a well-off shopkeeper, who decides to spend a year after college in a remote Prince Edward Island town. While there, he meets a beautiful young woman, who cannot speak. In all ways she appears perfectly healthy, she can hear just fine, plays an excellent violin, but can't speak. The story is quite melodramatic, as first we are told the story of her mother, who got married to a man who turned out, through no fault of his own, to already be married. Then the young woman, Kilmeny, and Eric fall in love, but Kilmeny feels herself unworthy of marriage, because of her "defect". The resolution involves Kilmeny's step-brother, an Italian orphan, who had also been in love with Kilmeny. This feature reveals one of the more distasteful features of Montgomery's books: her racism (and classism). In the Anne books the racist bits are very minor, involving occasional remarks about the "French". Apparently the French community of New Brunswick (the original Acadians many of whom moved to Louisiana and became the Cajuns (Acadian => 'cadian => Cajun)) were not highly regarded by the Scots and English inhabitants of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. They seem to have been mostly employed as farmhands. In _Kilmeny of the Orchard_ it is made clear from the beginning that Neil, of Southern European birth, somewhat dark-skinned, and an orphan, is a lesser being, prone to emotional outbursts despite having been brought up from birth by Kilmeny's dour Scots Aunt and Uncle.
Anyway, though Kilmeny of the Orchard has significant flaws, it is still an involving and enjoyable read.

I was disappointed with the previous segment of the series, so I was not expecting much from Rainbow Valley. Indeed, I put off reading it for a year. I'm sorry now that I did so.

Montgomery returns to the magic and lyricism of the beginning of the Green Gable series. But she does it by leaving Anne. There is only a little about Anne's family, and hardly anything about Anne herself in this book. It is mostly about another family, that of John Meredith, the minister, a widower. By telling the story of this family, and an orphan they befriend, we see some angst in life, some troubles. Which was exactly the problem with the story of Anne's family. She went through many troubles as a girl, but as a mature mother, she had everything perfect. The family was perfect. The marriage was perfect. And it was all quite boring. This is why they don't write about perfect people in the adventure stories that Anne loves. But the Merediths do not have a perfect life, and the troubles they experience, and how they attempt to resolve them, create spice.

These are very believable characters created by Montgomery, and a believable small town focused continually on gossip. It is one of the rare books that does not portray a minister and his family as evil, nor as perfect, but simply as real- perhaps because the book was written in 1919. How the children of the family respond to an emotionally absent father is intriguing, and Faith Meredith's actions the most interesting of them all. I read this on the train from Casablanca to Tangier, and the Moroccans in the train car with me gave me many strange looks as I could not stop laughing uproariously at Faith's actions, nor explain to them what was so amazingly funny.

Utterly predictable and in some ways a feminist's nightmare, still I adore this book. Handsome, kind and perfect Eric, exiled in a small country town due to his generosity and compassion to a friend in need, instantly falls under the spell of lovely, talented and innocent Kilmeny when he comes upon her playing her violin in an abandoned orchard. The lyrical and supremely romantic passage describing this encounter etched the never-seen image into my memory - the blossoming trees, the quality of the light, the textures of Kilmeny's dress, the ethereal music. When Kilmeny runs away in terror, a confused Eric, irrevocably pinned by cupid's arrow, attempts to find out who she is. But Kilmeny has a secret and no one in the town is talking ...

Simple and charming, this story is somewhat more lightweight than other Lucy Maud Montgomery novels. Typically, however, the romance plays itself out against a background exploration of the attitudes, the isolationism, and the superstitions of the small rural communities of yesteryear. And of course Montgomery's writing, in my opinion, puts Kilmeny of the Orchard at the top of my list of the most enjoyable romance novels I have ever read.

I really think the only reason not to find "Rainbow Valley" one of L. M. Montgomery's better novels in the Anne series is because it obviously has the least to do with Anne or her children. Once Anne finally married Gilbert in "Anne's House of Dreams" (1917), Montgomery seemed to be at a loss as what to do with her delightful red-headed orphan now that she was a mother. So when this book was written in 1919 she focused on the four Meredith children who beloned to new Presbyterian minister, John Meredith, who was a widower. I can certainly see where some readers would be less than pleased with this particular direction, but the scene near the end of the novel where little Una Meredith communes with her late mother's wedding dress before going off to get her father a wife is as touching as anything Montgomery ever wrote.

To be clear, "Rainbow Valley" is the fifth of the original six Anne books written by Montgomery, which ended in 1920 with "Rilla of Ingleside." It would not be until 1936 that she would write "Anne of Windy Poplars," which became the fourth book in the series and took us back to when Anne was engaged to Gilbert and waiting for him to finish medical school. In 1939 she wrote her final novel, "Anne of Ingleside," which is the least of the Anne books, taking place before "Rainbow Valley" and engaging in some heavy handed foreshadowing as to what would happen to her characters. This 1919 book is dedicated: "To the memory of Goldwin Lapp, Robert Brookes and Morley Shier who made the supreme sacrifice that the happy valleys of their home land might be kept sacred from the ravage of the invader." So clearly Montgomery was thinking of the next book she would write, that would take place during the First World War.

At this point in time Anne Shirley has been married to Gilbert Blythe for 15 years and is now the mother of six children: James (called Jem), Walter, Nan, Diana (Di), Shirley, and Marilla (Rilla). The Mrs. and the Doctor return home to Four Winds Harbor from a trip to Europe and discover the new minister and his four children: Jerry, Faith, Una and Carl. Without a mother and a father given over to deams, the manse children tend to run a bit wild. However, it seems that when they try to do their very best, it occasions the most local gossip, and the children are worried they will cost their father his job. Of course the Meredith and Blythe children become good friends, and the manswe children have Anne's stamp of approval, which is good enough for us. Two major plots in the novel involve Mary Vance, an orphan girl who finds an unexpected home and continues to cause trouble for all concerned, and Rosemary West, a young woman who John Meredith falls for but whose sister Ellen does not want to be alone and causes romantic complications that Una needs to iron out in the end.

All in all, "Rainbow Valley" reminds me more of "The Story Girl" and "The Golden Road" than any of the other Anne books, with the Meredith children having a series of humorous misadventures. I am also impressed because as you can tell from the ending when Walter Blythe speaks of "The Piper," that Montgomery is already committed to writing about what happens to these children during World War I in her next Anne book, "Rilla of Ingleside." Even though it is atypical "Rainbow Valley" is my second favorite book in the Anne series and I am the proud owner of a first edition copy with the green book cover and the illustration by M.L. Kirk of not Anne but rather Rosemary West, captioned "Rosemary West stepped aside from teh by-path and stood in that spell-weaving place" (page 131).

Although this book has little about Anne in it, I think the author was right in focusing on the children. After all, as a mother of 6, I don't think there would be much story to Anne. Obviously her life at this point, even with Susan's help, consisted of working in her home and for her family. This was still during a time when there were few machines to make tasks easier, and the work never ended. All through the book she is there for her children as she was in Anne of Ingleside, but now the story is theirs and that of their friends. She was able to move the story of Anne along while bringing in new characters and fresh storylines. Because of the devices she used, she was able to make the 8th book as interesting as the first one. The author was also possibly employing the same strategies advertisers employ today to sell their wares. She could have been using Anne's name to sell more books. Whatever, it's still a delightful read!

I couldn't believe the review one person wrote about "Kilmeny" entitled ho hum! This is no action adventure book, but it is not intended to be. Read Indiana Jones or Left Behind if you want action. This is one of Lucy's best novels. With a male main character, is is unique among her other full length works. This story tells a beautiful tale of true love. Eric truly loves this girl for her character, not for superficial reasons. He delights in her beauty because there is character behind it. Kilmeny is the one who truly displays sacrificial love. As Lucy Maud so eloquently puts it, her love was so strong that it would not allow her to do him (Eric) what she believed to be a wrong. That is a pure love which is too scarce in our world today. But I guess if you don't want to read about a beautiful love story, deep emotion, moving triumphs, and men treating the women they love as they deserve, with tenderness and respect, then this book really is ho-hum. ;)

I love all the Lucy Maude Montgomery books and this one is no exception. It is quite a simple story, but wonderfully written. All the characters are believable, even if they might not act or react in the same way people would today. That's what I find so interesting about her stories. This isn't written by a person today, but by someone living in that same era as the people in her stories.