Audiobook · read by volunteers
Further Chronicles of Avonlea
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942)
Read by Sibella Denton · 30 chapters · 6 h 44
About the book
Avonlea is a small farming village on Prince Edward Island, and the people who live there are full of stories. Further Chronicles of Avonlea collects short tales about its inhabitants, with titles such as Aunt Cynthia’s Persian Cat, The Materializing of Cecil, Her Father’s Daughter and Jane’s Baby. L. M. Montgomery writes with a light touch and a warm eye for human foibles, mixing comedy with romance and a good measure of sentiment. Fifteen stories, in thirty short recordings lasting nearly seven hours, make it easy to dip into at will. For anyone who knows Anne of Green Gables, this is a return to a familiar landscape; for new readers, it is a charming doorway. A village, a handful of surprises and many warm-hearted people, all told with the warmth for which Montgomery is loved.
Introduction
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942) was a Canadian author, best known for Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Further Chronicles of Avonlea appeared in 1920 and is a sequel to Chronicles of Avonlea. It includes a number of stories about the inhabitants of the fictional village and its region.
The first stories include Aunt Cynthia’s Persian Cat and The Materializing of Cecil, each recorded in two parts. Montgomery shapes her short stories with attention to character, and her endings often bring a smile. The writing is full of descriptions of the island landscape, of orchards, roads and the sea beyond, and the sense of place is a large part of its appeal. These are gentle stories, but not without their sharper moments.
Several of the tales have a mild comic twist, and others are quietly touching. Montgomery’s fondness for her characters is evident in every scene, whether she is describing a fussy relative, a young woman at a crossroads or a country road in autumn. They are best heard in small portions, one or two at a time, in the manner of a bedtime story for grown-ups and children alike.
Fifteen stories, each split into two parts, make up the thirty recordings, about 6.7 hours in all, read by a single LibriVox volunteer. A tale can be heard in two short sittings. Titles such as The Dream-Child, Sara’s Way and Tannis of the Flats show the range, from family drama to comedy and romance, and the best way to approach them is a story or two at a time, with a pause between.
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