Books Reminiscent of L.M. Montgomery

   Scythrop Glowry on Nov 13 07:21:54

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I know that there are a great many women (and their daughters and granddaughters) who would love more books like Anne of Green Gables , Emily of Newmoon , Jane of Lantern Hill, , and Pat of Silverbush. Unfortunately, some of them don't even know about all of those. Here below I will present some books by different authors that are truly in the spirit of Lucy Maud Montgomery's writing. I include no rewrites, prequels, or other such things because I disapprove of them. These books are each their own story, pure and original. A bonus too, is that, since, so far, they are all old, they are all in the public domain and I have included links (mostly to Google Books) for your easy access to free pdfs.

By Eleanor H. Porter -

Pollyanna (1913) and sequel (1915)

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I was struck by the delightfully strong similarity between Anne of Green Gables and Pollyanna - yet Pollyanna is also poingantly unique. The picture below is from a copy of Pollyanna Grows Up, which is the sequel. Pollyanna is the much beloved story of a charming little girl whose innocent advice is such a tonic that even doctors and nurses want to give their patients "a dose of Pollyanna." Growing up without much money and losing her father, a dear missonary minister out west, when she is eleven years old, Pollyanna is yet cheerful - she has The Glad Game, a philosophy her father taught her that helps one get back to what is right and good even when times get rough.

Free Pollyanna pdf at Google Books

Just David (1916)

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The protagonist in Just David is a little boy - I always imagine him with a manly but delicately whistful face surrounded by short brown hair - but considering how very like Pollyanna it is, and its surprising charm for Lucy Maud lovers, and the fact that it is probably one of the inspirations for Emily of New Moon, I have included it. David has been brought up by a whimsical father away from the influences of the world, knowing little about money and nothing about sin, learning to speak multiple languages fluently and speak through the violin with just as much ease. In nature he finds a deep delight. But one day, his father says they have to leave right away...

Free Just David pdf at Google Books

Cross Currents (1907) and The Turn of the Tide (1908)

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I presented these two books in this manner, because it is not obvious what the sequel to Cross Currents is, and I accidentally read The Turn of the Tide before Cross Currents. If you have ever wondered what the slums of Edwardian Era America were like, these books will give you an idea. Amid the hardships and rough experiences of a small girl stranded in these slums, there is humor and light to illumine the darkest ally. Both L.M. Montgomery and Ealanor H. Porter posessed the ability to make you smile even in the most distressing moments. Mag of the Ally's appreciation of things we take for granted will help you be grateful for what you have.

Free Cross Currents pdf at Google Books

The Miss Billy series (1911, 1912, 1914)

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I am afraid Lucy Maud was not always realistic - neither was Eleanor H. Porter. The Miss Billy books may not quite follow how the world works, but they are deliciously unusual and laugh out loud hilarious. Miss Billy is eighteen at the beginning - there are three books, Miss Billy, Miss Billy's Decision, and Miss Billy Married - but she is a child at heart and certainly as innocent as one. Like many other heriones - and one hero - on this list, Miss Billy has a charm to change lives. I wasn't sure I liked her at first, but I adored her by the last book. City life blooms with color and life under Eleanor's pen so that you don't even miss the country. In reading these books you will get an idea what fashionable Boston was like in the 1910s.

Free Miss Billy pdf at Google Books

By others -

The Virginia Hammond series (1914, 1915, 1916)

By Daisy Rhodes Campbell

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The Virginia Hammond books - The Fiddling Girl, The Proving of Virginia, and The Violin Lady - are mostly forgotten, but I was thrilled when I started the first book. So much like Lucy Maud and Ealanor H. Porter! These books are not quite as masterful, but they are definitely worth reading if you like those authors just mentioned. Virginia Hammond is a beautiful young girl with a strong sense of justice and honor as well as a wonderful talent for the violin. Her mother was excommunicated from her lofty family after marrying a humble truck farmer and has died by the start of the story, leaving two smaller children as well as Virginia.

Free The Fiddling Girl pdf at Internet Archive

The Sylvia Arden series (1914, 1916, 1917)

By Margaret R. Piper

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Pollyanna has the trademark "The Glad Book". The Sylvia books - Sylvia's Experiment: the story of an unrelated family, Sylvia of the Hilltop, and Sylvia Arden Decides - bare the trademark "The Cheerful Book". Though not very original and not very professional, these books have a few wise ideas here and there. In the first book Sylvia Arden, an orphan staying at boarding school, has an unusual opportunity when her gad-about gaurdians are away in Europe. She strikes upon the idea of assembling - at her gracious paternal home - a family of lonely people to have a real Christmas together. Now, I don't keep Christmas, but I love Sylvia's experiment.

Free Sylvia's Experiment pdf at Google Books

A Girl of the Limberlost (1909)

By Gene Stratton-Porter

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A Girl of The Limberlost is one of the best books I have ever read. No other book has so humbled me as a writer. Full of nature and determination, this book is a good one of for those who love Lucy Maud Montgomery. The book has two big faults, but it is still even better than L.M. Montgomery's books. More realistic, deeper. This book gave me such a longing to be outside! Elnora Comstock lives in a fertile swamp woods in Indiana just as the forests are disappearing. Her mother, a bitter widow, is not the perfect mother-angel of other books of the time. The Limberlost is a beautiful but dangerous place. Elnora's struggle to go to high school is beset with heart-aching difficulties, but Elnora, strong with the schooling of LIFE, is prepared to struggle.

Free A Girl of The Limberlost pdf at Google Books

Understood Betsy (1917)

By Dorothy Canfield Fisher

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Understood Betsy is a facinating study of history and the philosophy of raising children. It may also be the best book on this list for starving Lucy Maud lovers. The only fault of this book is that it is so short! Little orphaned Elizabeth Ann has been raised with all the care of a "mother" trained by catalogs. What a different raising she gets when she falls into the hands of the country counsins!

Free Understood Betsy pdf at Google Books

A Little Princess (1887~1905)

By Frances Hodgeson Burnette

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I was quite surprised by how wonderful the book of A Little Princess is. Sara Crew is an entrancing, imaginative child with more true dignity, grace, and kindess than a real princess. I think this book is more beautiful than any movie ever made of it.

Free A Little Princess pdf at Google Books

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903)

By Kate Douglas Wiggin

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Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm was probably the biggest inspiration for Anne of Green Gables and Emily of Newmoon, though it lacks the close communion with the heroine that those books have. If you want something truly like a Lucy Maud, you will find it in this. Nothing about it is as good as what Lucy Maud did, except that it is perhaps slightly more realistic than Emily of Newmoon. Still, Rebecca is strongly akin to our favorite little girls and I found myself in great suspense towards the end.

Free Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm pdf at Google Books

How they Made a Man of Him (1876)

By Julia R. Smith

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I suppose it is somewhat doubtful whether this surprising gem of the usually dull catagory of common Victorian children's books deserves a place on the list since it doesn't have a real central character - but there is one chapter that reminds me so much of Lucy Maud, and the story of how a group of little girls set out to help a drunk woman's son make good is so compelling, that this has to make it. It's not long anyway and worth the short time it takes to read.

Free How they Made a Man of Him pdf at Google Books

Vara or the Child of Adoption (1854)

by Jane Elizabeth Roscoe Hornblower

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This is the old fashioned story of a sweet, pretty missonaries' daughter who is sent to the America of her ancestry to be brought up by strangers, her siblings having already died of the tropical climate. Brought up by loving, refined, unconventional people, she is naturally averse to all that is vulgar and in bad taste, but she hides this so as not to hurt others' feelings. With piety, drama, and a little humor it is a pleasant story. It reminds me in many ways of Emily of Newmoon, Anne of Green Gables, and Jane of Lantern Hill, but it is not as good as any of them. At times its mild satire reminds me of Jane Austen.

Free Vara or the Child of Adoption pdf at Google Books

An Old-fashioned Girl (1869)

by Louisa May Alcott

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Like Anne of Green Gables or Pollyanna, this is a story about a little girl who captures everyone's hearts. Polly Milton is somewhere between Pollyanna and Virginia Hammond with a touch of Emily Star. Like other Louisa May Alcott books, it is a very educational book for those who wish to know about everyday life in the Victorian Era. It's interesting to read about old and new fashions at the time. It also has some humor, some romance, and more realism than a Lucy Maud.

I highly recommend the beautiful Seawolf Press 150th anniversary edition . Not too expensive, it has an elegant format and abundance of wonderful old illustrations.

Free Old Fashioned Girl pdf at Google Books

The Angel of the Tenement (1897)

by George Madden Martin

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This is claimed to be a true story, though it definitely reads like a novel. It is very short and light. Though written in the 1890s it has a very Edwardian style. If you liked Cross Currents , you will probably like The Angel of the Tenement .

Free Angel of the Tenement pdf at Google Books

Only Henrietta (1919)

by Lela Horn Richards

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Henrietta's mother is a "hair specialist" and Henrietta hates it. Her father left them when she was a baby. Even some of her friends say behind her back "Oh, that's only Henrietta Kirby..." - and Kirby isn't even her real name. Keenly sensitive to beauty, she has to live in shabbiness. Temperamental and prideful, she has to live a humble life.

Free Only Henrietta pdf at Google Books

Chrystabel (1873)

by Emma Jane Warboise

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Though a very obscure book now, Chrystabel or Clouds with a Silver Lining was one of many Warboise novels, popular in their day. This is one of the best books on this list. Emma Jane Warboise had the descriptive ability of Charles Dickens, only better - you see what she describes. Reminiscent of Jane of Lantern Hill and Emily of New Moon , perfect for admirers of The Secret Garden or Jane Eyre , this story begins with Chrystabel Tyndale at nine years old, having just lost a father she never really had, destitute of love, money, or religion, very sympathetic to the reader but very disagreeable to those around her. An unusual, yet delightfully familiar book. I love it so far and look forward to rereading parts of it many times in future.

Free Crystabel HTML at Internet Archive WayBackMachine (Only free read I could find. Not too bad.)

Jewel (1903)

by Clara Louise Burnham

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There is a different illustration which might be more suitable, but this one was so pretty I had to use it. Like Pollyanna, Jewel is a cheerful little girl from the west who comes to live with a stiff, aristocratic elderly person. In this case, she is a Christian Scientist (at least she loves God, and it is rather interesting). She only has to stay at "Castle Discord" with "the giantess", "the enchanted maiden", and the "error fairy" for six months - but she's bound to make a difference.

Free Jewel pdf at Google Books

Honor Bright (1920)

by Laura E. Richards

I haven't read the whole book, but you don't have to read far to enjoy it and know that it is of the same blood as Anne and A Little Princess and probably Heidi too (a book I haven't read yet)...even if the blood came through a disapproved of marraige. What use is pointing fingers, though, when Lucy Maud herself clearly got her ideas from everyone and anyone else? At least Honor Bright isn't another ordinary schoolgirl story without a decent portion of talent or effort.

The Girls of Friendly Terrace (1912)

by Harriet Lumis Smith

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I haven't read much of this, but I had a difficult time putting it down. The story begins with the return of Peggy Raymond and the arrival of some new neighbors to Friendly Terrace, an ideal sort of small town with green lawns and cheerful people smiling at each other over fences. Peggy Raymond is a very sweet girl who is tries right off to help and be friends with the new neighbors.

Joan of Juniper Inn (1907)

by Emilia Elliot

Joan's family needs money and one day she mentions it around her younger siblings. They remember the story of how their home used to be a tavern before Civil War - why not turn it into an inn now and make some money?

Patricia (1910)

by Emilia Elliot

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Four little stories about eleven year old Patricia who is mischievous but kindhearted. The titles of these stories are PATRICIA'S FATIGUING DAY, THE GINGHAM APRON PARTY, THE WAY OF A GRAND-MOTHER, and PATRICIA'S CHRISTMAS FAMILY.

The Secret Garden (1911)

by Frances Hodgeson Burnett

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If you have not seen the movie, read the book first!!! I, unfortunately, had watched the movie three or four times before reading the book and it marred my enjoyment of the book in multiple ways...even though this did not happen with Anne of Green Gables, What Katy Did, or the Little Women books (all of which I watched the movies, sometimes multiple times, before reading the books.) If you have watched the movie, try, if you can, to wait a few years before reading the book. Forewarning: you are simply not going to like Mary Lennox when you first meet her. The main point of the book is how the characters develope from disagreeable to, well, having a portion of the same power that Anne and Pollyanna had to brighten their surroundings and change lives.

The Peterkin Papers (1880)

by Lucretia Peabody Hale

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If your favorite part of Lucy Maud's books is their laugh-out-loud humor, this should be on your reading list. Perfect for children, the language is simple and everything about it clean. This collection of connected shortstories tells the adventures of a middle-class, 1870s, New England family whose mistakes and mishaps are a slight exaggeration of those in real life - and it doesn't take much exaggerating to make real-life humor ludicrous.

Tags: literature L.M. Montgomery books for little girls Anne of Green Gables