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The Blythes are quoted
544 pages
A shadowed, autumnal farewell to a beloved literary world, revealing the bitter realities and lingering grief beneath the idyllic surface.
What it feels like
Reading this final, posthumously restored work feels like walking through a familiar, sunlit garden that has been touched by a sudden, biting frost. The pace is leisurely and episodic, weaving together short stories, poetry, and fireside dialogues that invite quiet reflection. Yet the mood is distinctly autumnal and elegiac, stripping away the unyielding optimism of earlier volumes to expose the raw nerves of a community grappling with adultery, bitterness, and the devastating toll of the Great War. Montgomery's prose here is experimental and fragmented, contrasting her traditional lyrical beauty with stark, cynical realities. It is a profoundly bittersweet experience, perfect for lifelong fans ready to embrace the complex, sorrowful, and deeply human shadows lurking at the edges of Glen St. Mary.
- Mood
- shadowed
- elegiac
- somber
- autumnal
- Tone
- melancholic
- reflective
- bittersweet
- cynical
- nostalgic
- Pace
- leisurely
- Themes
- the lingering trauma of war · loss of innocence · hidden darkness in small communities · the passage of time · grief and remembrance
- The writing
- Experimental for the author, blending her signature lyrical descriptions with starker, more fragmented dialogue and poignant poetry.
- The arc
- Moves from nostalgic glimpses of a beloved community into a profound, shadowed reckoning with grief, mortality, and the scars of war.
- Who it's for
- Devoted fans of L.M. Montgomery who are ready to see the darker, more mature, and sorrowful side of Avonlea and Glen St. Mary.
Content notes
- grief and loss of a child
- war trauma
- adultery
- misogyny
- death
About the book
Adultery, illegitimacy, misogyny, revenge, murder, despair, bitterness, hatred, and death—usually not the first terms associated with L.M. Montgomery. But in The Blythes Are Quoted, completed shortly before her death and never before published in its entirety, Montgomery brought these topics to the forefront in what she intended to be the ninth volume in her bestselling series featuring her beloved heroine Anne. Divided into two sections, one set before and one after the Great War of 1914—1918, The Blythes Are Quoted contains fifteen episodes that include an adult Anne and her family. Binding these short stories, Montgomery inserted sketches featuring Anne and Gilbert Blythe discussing poems by Anne and their middle son, Walter, who dies as a soldier in the war. By blending poetry, prose, and dialogue, Montgomery was experimenting with storytelling methods in ways she had never before attempted. The Blythes Are Quoted marks the final word of a writer whose work continues to fascinate readers all over the world.
Description from Open Library.
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