Marilla of Green Gables

May 1, 2018

New York Times best-selling author McCoy takes us to Green Gables before Anne's time, when Marilla Cuthbert inherits a farmwife's responsibilities at age 13 with her mother's death. But she connects to the outside world through a whip-smart spinster aunt in the city of St. Catharines.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2018
An imagined life of Marilla Cuthbert, of Green Gables fame.There's a line from Anne of Green Gables that author McCoy says has always stayed with her: When Marilla points out their neighbor John Blythe (father of Anne's beloved Gilbert) and says "We used to be real good friends, he and I. People called him my beau," Anne cries, "Oh, Marilla--and what happened?" Fascinated by the question, McCoy answers it here with a rich, historically intense life for Marilla, beginning when she is 13; her mother is pregnant and her Aunt Izzy comes to help. The Cuthberts are quiet and retiring, so the arrival of Izzy--who fled Prince Edward Island to become a successful dressmaker in the city--gently pushes Marilla out of her isolation. Together they join a newly formed sewing circle in Avonlea, where Marilla meets her lifelong friend-to-be, Rachel, and through her meets John Blythe (though this is a bit of a stretch, because as a close longtime neighbor, wouldn't Marilla already know him?). Their attraction is immediate, but on the day John expresses his interest toward her, her mother and the baby die in childbirth, casting a shadow of guilt and pain over the experience. Courting is put on hold as the family regroups and Marilla feels obligated to take care of her father and older brother, Matthew, but a charitable visit to an orphanage in nearby Hopetown brings long-simmering national tensions home to Marilla, leading to a new direction in her life and an argument with John she can't seem to overcome. In fleshing out Marilla's story, McCoy weaves in fascinating historical details of Canada's religious and political tensions of the mid-19th century as well as the devastating legacy of slavery and an interesting contemplation of what might happen to survivors of the Underground Railroad once they hit Canada in the dangerous days before the American Civil War.As is often the question when reframing beloved fictional characters: Does it feel true? Readers will have to decide for themselves, but fashioning Marilla as a flawed hero of her times is a lovely tribute.

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November 1, 2018

For Anne of Green Gables fans who always wondered about Marilla Cuthbert's long-ago romance with a Cuthbert boy, this well-researched historical novel will satisfy their every longing. McCoy captures the dry wit, warm honesty, and strong sense of duty of the elderly woman from L.M. Montgomery's Canadian classic, while imbuing this tale with its own unforgettable characters and adventure. Marilla is barely a teen when her mother passes away from complications at childbirth and she has to take up the mantle of "lady of the house." McCoy explores the limitations on women at the time, the politics of a colony inching toward nationhood, and the abolition movement that Marilla eventually gets involved in with fascinating, nuanced detail. Fans of the source material will enjoy getting to meet familiar characters as young upstarts, especially Rachel Lynde and John Blythe. Echoes of the "Anne" books include references to old rivalries and friendships, but newcomers won't feel lost. The setting comes alive with every delicious meal, death-defying sickness, and richly described landscapes that would do Montgomery proud. There are some missteps as the author tries to present the Cuthberts as accepting of non-white people, but the enlightenment of the title character at the cost of fully realized secondary characters of color mars that aim. However, the interracial relationship featured in later chapters does feel authentic the plot development. VERDICT The bittersweet romance and family drama will engage fans of Green Gables and enchant historical fiction readers.-Shelley M. Diaz, School Library Journal

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.