Marilla of Green Gables - Sarah McCoy - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Sarah McCoy

GENRE: Historical Fiction.

PUBLICATION DATE: October 23, 2018

RATING: 4.25 stars.

(#ContainsSpoilers from the Anne of Green Gables series)

Anyone who has read Anne of Green Gables would undoubtedly have a special place in their heart for Anne and Gilbert. But other than them, two characters who really make a mark in the first book are Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. I was very upset that Matthew's character dies in the first book itself and Marilla's character gets relegated to the sidelines in the subsequent Anne books, even disappearing altogether in the later books of the series.

If you felt a connection, a oneness, a "kindred spirit" with Matthew and Marilla, then here is a book you must go for. I have always avoided spin-off series, whether for books or TV shows, if I liked the original. Somehow, my instinct told me that I need to read this book as an exception to my rule, and I am so glad I did.

Marilla of Green Gables attempts to reveal the pre-Anne lives of the siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. There are so many questions unanswered or partly answered in Anne of Green Gables. This book strives to answer all of those. What were Matthew's and Marilla's younger years like? Why were Matthew and Marilla unmarried till their deaths? What exactly happened between Marilla and John Blythe? Was Marilla always as stern and pragmatic as she was when she met Anne, or did her circumstances make her so? How did the beloved Green Gables get its name? All these queries are answered in this book. In a way, it's weird reading this book because you already know the ending. You just want to know what led to that ending.

Sarah McCoy's eye for detail is amazing. Every little aspect of characters from the Anne series has been taken care of in this book in a mostly satisfying manner. She has also faithfully reproduced LM Montgomery's style of chapter numbers and chapter names. In fact, this book is divided in three sections: Marilla of Green Gables, Marilla of Avonlea and Marilla's House of Dreams. Notice something? Those are variations of the three best Anne series titles.

If there is one gripe I have with the novel, it is this. In the quest to flesh out a full story, Sarah McCoy ends up with a major character mistake. All of us Anne readers would remember how Marilla was not at all happy at having received a girl from the orphanage instead of a boy. But in this book, Marilla has been shown as an abolitionist, indirectly helping out the slave runaways on the extended underground railroad from America to Canada. While I'm not sure of the historical accuracy of this part of the story (I'm not aware of the role Canada played during the abolitionist struggles and the American Civil war), the fact is that Marilla doesn't appear to be an abolitionist at all based on her portrayal by LM Montgomery. She was very conservative in her views. I'd have rated this book much higher if Marilla hasn't been portrayed as something so contradictory to her inherent nature in the Anne series.

That said, even LMM introduced random characters, and unexpected character changes in the Anne series to take the story ahead. So I'm willing to forgive the abolitionist angle because it is the only flaw in an otherwise enjoyable book.

Dare I say, I loved this book even more than a few titles from the Anne series. Then again, practical no-nonsense Marilla is much more a kindred spirit to me than the idealistic Anne always lost in her dream world. So I loved getting to know Marilla better.

Definitely recommended for all Anne of Green Gables fans. If you haven't read the Anne series, don't go for this because you won't enjoy it as much.