Anne of Windy Poplars (Anne of Green Gables)

I've read Anne books 1-5 and still have three to go (I've also read "Chronicles of Avonlea," "Further Chronicles of Avonlea," "The Road to Yesterday," "The Story Girl" and "The Golden Road"), and "Anne of Windy Poplars" is my absolute favourite next to "Anne of Green Gables." "Windy Poplars" captures Anne's vivid prose, wit and imagination perfectly, and the numerous side plots ensure that the novel never becomes dull. Much of the story is written as letters from Anne to Gilbert in which she describes her new life in Summerside, her room at Windy Poplars, the household intrigues between Aunts Chatty and Kathy and the tomatolike housekeeper Rebecca Dew, and the schemes of the spiteful Pringle clan in attempting to bring Anne down. At first the chapters upon chapters of letters seemed daunting, but I gradually grew to love Anne's narrations ("In passing, isn't "dusk" a lovely word?" Anne writes to Gilbert. "It sounds so velvety and shadowy and...and...dusky. In daylight I belong to the world....in the night to sleep and eternity. But in the dark I'm free from both and belong only to myself..and to you." Although some are love letters, Montgomery tastefully omits the romantic portions.

Although I found some of the other Anne novels to be a bit taxing (among them Anne's House of Dreams"), "Windy Poplars" is an absolute delight from start to finish and features an extremely memorable cast of characters: Minerva Tomgallon, Jen Pringle, Rebecca Dew, Nora Nelson, Katherine Brooke, Pauline Gibson, Little Elizabeth, Cousin Ernestine, Gerald and Geraldine among them. Some of the adventures are too conveniently arranged, but overall the book feels natural and reads well. Anne's constant adventures, musings and near-disasters are sure to entertain kindred spirits around the globe. Somehow "Anne of Windy Poplars" seemed to paint a portrait of the real Anne: in the prime of her youth, radiant, mischievous, in love, kindred spirit and poet, eager to savour all the experiences placed before her. Anne is older and wiser, but still a carefree girl at heart. In the later novels I could never reconcile Anne as married with children and abandoning her writings. This is the real Anne.

I've read Anne books 1-5 and still have three to go (I've also read "Chronicles of Avonlea," "Further Chronicles of Avonlea," "The Road to Yesterday," "The Story Girl" and "The Golden Road"), and "Anne of Windy Poplars" is my absolute favourite next to "Anne of Green Gables." "Windy Poplars" captures Anne's vivid prose, wit and imagination perfectly, and the numerous side plots ensure that the novel never becomes dull. Much of the story is written as letters from Anne to Gilbert in which she describes her new life in Summerside, her room at Windy Poplars, the household intrigues between Aunts Chatty and Kathy and the tomatolike housekeeper Rebecca Dew, and the schemes of the spiteful Pringle clan in attempting to bring Anne down. At first the chapters upon chapters of letters seemed daunting, but I gradually grew to love Anne's narrations ("In passing, isn't "dusk" a lovely word?" Anne writes to Gilbert. "It sounds so velvety and shadowy and...and...dusky. In daylight I belong to the world....in the night to sleep and eternity. But in the dark I'm free from both and belong only to myself..and to you." Although some are love letters, Montgomery tastefully omits the romantic portions.

Although I found some of the other Anne novels to be a bit taxing (among them "Anne's House of Dreams"), "Windy Poplars" is an absolute delight from start to finish and features an extremely memorable cast of characters, Minerva Tomgallon, Jen Pringle, Rebecca Dew, Nora Nelson, Katherine Brooke, Pauline Gibson, Little Elizabeth, Cousin Ernestine, Gerald and Geraldine among them. Some of the adventures are too conveniently arranged, but overall the book feels natural and reads well. Anne's constant adventures, musings and near-disasters are sure to entertain kindred spirits around the globe. Somehow "Anne of Windy Poplars" seemed to paint a portrait of the real Anne: in the prime of her youth, radiant, mischievous, in love, kindred spirit and poet, eager to savour all the experiences placed before her. Anne is older and wiser, but still a carefree girl at heart. In the later novels I could never reconcile Anne as married with children and abandoning her writings. This is the real Anne.

I normally do not write reviews, for fear of repeating what others have already said. In this case, however, I am making an exception. I am an avid L. M. Montgomery fan, and I have read every book in the Anne series at least five times each. "Anne of Windy Poplars" has come to be one of my favorites in the series by far. I love the new and fresh characters that are just as endearing as those in Avonlea, and the situations that Anne finds herself in are particularly interesting and relevent. I found more in this book that was challenging and thought-provoking for me than I was expecting, and every time I read it I laugh and learn just a little bit more. It is a book that improves with every reading, which makes it in every sense of the word a true classic.

Anne, even though supposedly a grown up, still manages to get herself into mishaps and adventures - the snobbish Pringle family and an unsympathetic vice principa this time - and still manages to get out of it by her natural charm.

Anne, as a graduate of Princeton is now a principal of a small school. She has to deal with a snobbish local family, and an uncooperative and unfriendly vice principal. In both cases, she manages to unravel a sad story in the past and uses it to get things going her way.

This also applies to the little girl who lives next door to Anne - Elizabeth, or Lizzie, or many other variations on the name, depending on the little girl's mood. This story has a happy ending, too, thanks to Anne - of course!

The characters of the two widows - Anne's landlors - and their house keeper, Rebbeca Dew - are very amusing, and are very similar to other "funny" characters in earlier or latter books in the series - Susan and Rebbeca are a lot alike...

"What would you think of a man..." Can anyone who has read "Anne of Windy Poplars" possibly forget the dinner scene at Trix's house? L.M. Montgomery peppers this novel with dozens of characters and situations like that one. Fifth in the "Anne" series, this book is packed with entertaining personalities like Aunts Chatty and Kate, Hazel, Trix, Katherine Brooke (spelled with a K!), Miss Valentine, Jen Pringle (and all her clan), and let's not forget Rebecca Dew. This book will lift your spirits high and banish even the deepest blues. The perfect cure for a depressing day.