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 heartbreak—and unimaginable greatness.
Plucky and ambitious, Marilla Cuthbert is thirteen … 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 Avonlea—a small, tight-knit farming town on a remote island—life holds few options for farm girls. Her one connection to the wider world is Aunt Elizabeth “Izzy” Johnson, her mother’s sister, who managed to escape from Avonlea to the bustling city of St. Catharines. An opinionated spinster, Aunt Izzy’s 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 happiness—Marilla is in no rush to trade one farm life for another. She soon finds herself caught up in the dangerous work of politics, and abolition—jeopardizing 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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Just couldn’t get into this book. I am a huge fan of the original Anne of Green Gables character, so this didn’t ring true for me.
As a fan of the Anne books, I loved this book. It gave a possible back story for Matthew, Marilla, Green Gables and the people of Avonlea.
If you loved the Anne of Green Gables series, you will love this sweet book!
Picks up the story of Amarillo Cuthbert before the start of the Anne of Green Gables books. Stays true to the characters we’ve all come to know and love. Very enjoyable read. Definitely recommend this book
Excellent portrayal of the early life of Marilla, from the wonderful Anne of Green Gables book. It’s a different author but she writes a completely plausible explanation of what made Marilla the strong character she became.
I loved it!
As a prequel to Anne of Green Gables, it is interesting to see one author’s vision of a young Marilla. However, I had trouble getting into her vision. It just did feel that her young Marilla would grow into the old Marilla of Anne of Green Gables. While there are some hints in Anne that Marilla was less conservative and autocratic leaning in her youth, in the long run I just could not reconcile the two images.
I enjoyed it as I had read Ann of Green Gables as a child and had visited P.E.I and the house.
I absolutely loved this book. It is true to the books of Anne of Green Gables. Sweet, endearing… Highly recommend!
For fans of Anne of Green Gables, the story of why Marilla is Marilla. A very satisfying book.
I am an avid fan of Anne of Green Gables and was glad that this author created the story of young Marilla.
I love Anne of Green Gables and Avonlea. This one’s about Marilla, and it’s wonderful!!! Beautiful writing, and I recognized every character. Such a fantastic book and highly recommend to every Anne fan.
A little dry and depressing compared to Ann of Green Gables books. A pretty good read though for a backstory.
This book is written in the style of Anne of Green Gabkes with the same warm and wonderful characters. It gives us insight into Matilda and her life before Anne arrived at Green Gabkes.
LOVED this book…it did justice to the series and made me want to go back and re-read Anne of Green Gables series 🙂
Loved this warm version or of the beginnings of “Anne of Green Gables”. The writing by this author is soothing and catchy of the knowledge of “Anne”‘s story.
So in order of the future but yet so tender of her love of John Blythe and understanding of her feelings. Her family life and love of mother, father, brother and finally Aunt Izzy. I loved reading this and hated for it to end.
I loved just FINDING OUT this book EXISTED, for one! And of course, I enjoyed reading it, because I DID read many, if not all, of the Anne of Green Gables books when I was a kid. Now I will of course be rereading them as a grownup, and seeing if there are a couple I’ve maybe missed. This book actually was sad, but hopeful, because I know some of what’s to come with reading the other books. I thought it was brilliant how the author wrote this and created, like, a prequel for the series. Very honorable. Good–no, great job, Sarah McCoy. I’m so excited for you getting to actually visit PEI too!
A wonderful background story about the people who adopted Anne of Green Gables.
How life can change when you least expect it and never planned for the turn of events.
I’ll give it four stars simply because the writing and research required to create this “prequel” to Anne of Green Gables is apparent. It’s very well done!
I love Anne of Green Gables, so Sarah McCoy’s undertaking of such a project is to be commended. It provides insight and answer to how the Marilla of Anne of Green Gables came to be, sort of. The Marilla in Anne of Green Gables was older, wiser, and had lived a long life by the time Anne came along. But, the Marilla of Green Gables was still open to love, which was apparent as she cared for the two runaway boys. Where was this compassion when Anne arrived? Why was she so afraid to open her heart to a girl so desperate for acceptance? Marilla of Green Gables leaves us with a 40ish year-old Marilla…so there is still a gap between then and Anne’s arrival. If Kitty is expecting Gilbert, I would say there is at least 16 years.
I listened to the audiobook provided by Hoopla.