Audiobook · read by volunteers
Anne of Avonlea
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942)
Read by Annie Coleman Rothenberg, Patricia Oakley, Norah Piehl, Beth Dudek, Betsie Bush, Alys AtteWater, JemmaBlythe, Kymm Zuckert, Heather Barnett · 30 chapters · 8 h 48
About the book
Anne Shirley, the red-haired orphan who won so many hearts in Anne of Green Gables, is now sixteen and a young schoolteacher in her home village of Avonlea. She has plans for her pupils, ideas about education and a head full of dreams, and she soon finds that real children are less obliging than the ones in books. At home, new neighbours arrive, two orphaned twins come to Green Gables, and the whole community comes to depend on her imagination.
Lucy Maud Montgomery’s sequel spends two years with Anne as she teaches at Avonlea school, between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, and brings back familiar faces alongside some memorable newcomers. In thirty chapters and nearly nine hours, this recording is a warm, funny story of growing up, of friendship and of finding your place in a small, beautiful world.
Introduction
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942) was a Canadian author born on Prince Edward Island, the setting of her best-known books. Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908, was an immediate success and made her famous around the world. Anne of Avonlea followed in 1909, and she went on to write several more novels about the heroine and her family.
This second book covers the two years, from sixteen to eighteen, when Anne teaches at Avonlea school. Many familiar characters from Anne of Green Gables return, and there are new ones, such as Mr Harrison, a neighbour with decided opinions, and the twins who come to live at Green Gables. The tone is gentler and more episodic than the first book, with a series of humorous incidents, a strong sense of community and a growing understanding of what the future may hold. Montgomery pays close attention to the landscape of the island, and her descriptions of seasons and weather are among the pleasures of the series.
Readers who loved the first book will find the same warmth and humour. Those who have not read it can still follow this one, although the references to earlier events add to the enjoyment.
The recording has 30 sections and lasts nearly nine hours. It is read by LibriVox volunteers, who share the chapters among them. Why listen today? Because Anne is a heroine who remains attractive: curious, talkative and quick to forgive. The book is a fine example of the Edwardian novel of youth, and it works both as a quiet read-aloud for families and as a comfort for adults who remember the first story. It is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon.
Public domain
Lucy Maud Montgomery died in 1942: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text