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Anne of Green Gables #5
Anne's House of Dreams
This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780553213188
Anne's own true love, Gilbert Blythe, is finally a doctor, and in the sunshine of the old orchard, among their dearest friends, they are about to speak their vows. Soon the happy couple will be bound for a new life together and their own dream house, on the misty purple shores of Four Winds Harbor.
A new life means fresh problems to solve, fresh surprises. Anne and Gilbert will make new friends and meet their neighbors: Captain Jim, the lighthouse attendant, with his sad stories of the sea; Miss Cornelia Bryant, the lady who speaks from the heart—and speaks her mind; and the tragically beautiful Leslie Moore, into whose dark life Anne shines a brilliant light.
Anne's own true love, Gilbert Blythe, is finally a doctor, and in the sunshine of the old orchard, among their dearest friends, they are about to speak their vows. Soon the happy couple will be bound for a new life together and their own dream house, on the misty purple shores of Four Winds Harbor.
A new life means fresh problems to solve, fresh surprises. Anne and Gilbert will make new friends and meet their neighbors: Captain Jim, the lighthouse attendant, with his sad stories of the sea; Miss Cornelia Bryant, the lady who speaks from the heart—and speaks her mind; and the tragically beautiful Leslie Moore, into whose dark life Anne shines a brilliant light.
227 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1917
About the author
L.M. Montgomery
2,096 books11.9k followersLucy Maud Montgomery was a Canadian author, best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908.
Montgomery was born at Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Nov. 30, 1874. She came to live at Leaskdale, north of Uxbridge Ontario, after her wedding with Rev. Ewen Macdonald on July 11, 1911. She had three children and wrote close to a dozen books while she was living in the Leaskdale Manse before the family moved to Norval, Ontario in 1926. She died in Toronto April 24, 1942 and was buried at Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.
Montgomery was born at Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Nov. 30, 1874. She came to live at Leaskdale, north of Uxbridge Ontario, after her wedding with Rev. Ewen Macdonald on July 11, 1911. She had three children and wrote close to a dozen books while she was living in the Leaskdale Manse before the family moved to Norval, Ontario in 1926. She died in Toronto April 24, 1942 and was buried at Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.
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November 20, 2023
I originally read the entire Anne series when I was 11. In fact, the Anne books were among the first ones I bought with my money, money I had earned doing odd chores or watching my younger brothers for an hour or two.
I recently went to an event at the Margaret Mitchell House featuring romance authors, and one of the questions was "What's your favorite literary kiss?" I started thinking about my own answer, and decided it might be the very end of "Anne of the Island" - FINALLY Anne realized she and Gilbert were meant to be. That led to a re-reading of the end of "Anne of the Island," and before I knew it I had flipped the Kindle to "Anne's House of Dreams" (alas, I don't possess "Anne of Windy Poplars" in e-form.)
"Anne's House of Dreams" was among my favorite Anne books, and it held up for me all these many years later. I think it's the most personal of the Anne books, the most poignant. Montgomery wrote many angry and disillusioned characters, but in my opinion Leslie Moore is the most nuanced character in the entire series - and that includes Anne. It's also the most romantic book in the series- there's not only the sweet newlywed relationship between Anne and Gilbert, but also Captain Jim and Lost Margaret, Leslie and Owen. And the setting is romance personified - an out of the way cottage, a wild seashore, a lighthouse still manually operated by its keeper. This is not the close-knit village of Avonlea, or the large, rambling, center of town Ingleside manor where Anne and Gilbert will raise their family. In those books, the greater community plays a large role in Anne's life. "Anne's House of Dreams" is more self-contained, centering on a smaller cast of characters: Anne, Gilbert and their immediate neighbors Miss Cornelia, Leslie and Captain Jim.
In fact, "dreams" is very apropos because there is a dream-like quality to much of the book. Anne is often referred to as a "dreamer of dreams" - most of them centering around building a family with Gilbert. Captain Jim sees Lost Margaret in his dreams. Leslie's dreams are dead - or so she thinks. Even Gilbert refers to his dreams coming true, and hates to argue with Anne lest he finds his marriage to his long-sought after love is nothing but a waking dream.
But for all the dream references, this is also (along with "Rilla of Ingleside") the most poignant of the Anne novels. There is plenty of romance, and even humor in the form of Miss Cornelia, but also tragedy and sadness. This is the last book to focus exclusively on Anne - subsequent books are more about the children than her - and Anne is truly a grown-up by the end: a wife, a mother, a survivor of grief and joy.
I find the reviews disappointed in Anne's choice to marry Gilbert and become a wife and mother rather...puzzling. Anne is a product of her times. More important, she is a product of L.M. Montgomery's particular times. Anne was never set up to be a bohemian or to flout society. Anne wanted more than anything to fit in and have a family of her own - go read the scene in "Anne of Green Gables" where Matthew gives her the dress with the puffed sleeves. She doesn't settle for Gilbert - she actively chooses to be with him.
Anne had examples of women who chose careers away from home instead of marriage before her: Stella went to Vancouver, Jane went out West (and landed a millionaire, true, but it wasn't Jane's stated goal), Aunt Jamesina's daughter was a missionary in India, Katherine became a secretary to a globe trotting MP. And Anne saw that women could remain unmarried and still lead productive lives, Marilla being only one example. So she could have followed in their footsteps.
But Anne LOVES. That is Anne's great gift. She loves people unconditionally. She gave love to Matthew and Marilla, to Davy and Dora, to Diana and Phil and Katherine and Leslie. She's everyone's favorite confidante - not because she's some saccharine, two-dimensional Mary Sue, but because Anne demonstrates a deep and abiding interest in and care for others.
For Anne to chose career over love and a family of her own just wouldn't be in her character. At all. Creating a home and a community for Gilbert and their family - and for Leslie, Captain Jim, Miss Cornelia, and all the other characters who spend more time in her house than their own - that's Anne's true calling. Is it anti-feminist? Not at all. Anne isn't held back, she isn't put down, she doesn't kowtow to Gilbert. In fact, he, more than anyone, knows that Anne had plenty of choices and he's amazed and grateful that she chose him.
Also: written in 1917, people.
If anything, Montgomery is rather subversive in showing that women truly call the shots in the communities she creates.
I recently went to an event at the Margaret Mitchell House featuring romance authors, and one of the questions was "What's your favorite literary kiss?" I started thinking about my own answer, and decided it might be the very end of "Anne of the Island" - FINALLY Anne realized she and Gilbert were meant to be. That led to a re-reading of the end of "Anne of the Island," and before I knew it I had flipped the Kindle to "Anne's House of Dreams" (alas, I don't possess "Anne of Windy Poplars" in e-form.)
"Anne's House of Dreams" was among my favorite Anne books, and it held up for me all these many years later. I think it's the most personal of the Anne books, the most poignant. Montgomery wrote many angry and disillusioned characters, but in my opinion Leslie Moore is the most nuanced character in the entire series - and that includes Anne. It's also the most romantic book in the series- there's not only the sweet newlywed relationship between Anne and Gilbert, but also Captain Jim and Lost Margaret, Leslie and Owen. And the setting is romance personified - an out of the way cottage, a wild seashore, a lighthouse still manually operated by its keeper. This is not the close-knit village of Avonlea, or the large, rambling, center of town Ingleside manor where Anne and Gilbert will raise their family. In those books, the greater community plays a large role in Anne's life. "Anne's House of Dreams" is more self-contained, centering on a smaller cast of characters: Anne, Gilbert and their immediate neighbors Miss Cornelia, Leslie and Captain Jim.
In fact, "dreams" is very apropos because there is a dream-like quality to much of the book. Anne is often referred to as a "dreamer of dreams" - most of them centering around building a family with Gilbert. Captain Jim sees Lost Margaret in his dreams. Leslie's dreams are dead - or so she thinks. Even Gilbert refers to his dreams coming true, and hates to argue with Anne lest he finds his marriage to his long-sought after love is nothing but a waking dream.
But for all the dream references, this is also (along with "Rilla of Ingleside") the most poignant of the Anne novels. There is plenty of romance, and even humor in the form of Miss Cornelia, but also tragedy and sadness. This is the last book to focus exclusively on Anne - subsequent books are more about the children than her - and Anne is truly a grown-up by the end: a wife, a mother, a survivor of grief and joy.
I find the reviews disappointed in Anne's choice to marry Gilbert and become a wife and mother rather...puzzling. Anne is a product of her times. More important, she is a product of L.M. Montgomery's particular times. Anne was never set up to be a bohemian or to flout society. Anne wanted more than anything to fit in and have a family of her own - go read the scene in "Anne of Green Gables" where Matthew gives her the dress with the puffed sleeves. She doesn't settle for Gilbert - she actively chooses to be with him.
Anne had examples of women who chose careers away from home instead of marriage before her: Stella went to Vancouver, Jane went out West (and landed a millionaire, true, but it wasn't Jane's stated goal), Aunt Jamesina's daughter was a missionary in India, Katherine became a secretary to a globe trotting MP. And Anne saw that women could remain unmarried and still lead productive lives, Marilla being only one example. So she could have followed in their footsteps.
But Anne LOVES. That is Anne's great gift. She loves people unconditionally. She gave love to Matthew and Marilla, to Davy and Dora, to Diana and Phil and Katherine and Leslie. She's everyone's favorite confidante - not because she's some saccharine, two-dimensional Mary Sue, but because Anne demonstrates a deep and abiding interest in and care for others.
For Anne to chose career over love and a family of her own just wouldn't be in her character. At all. Creating a home and a community for Gilbert and their family - and for Leslie, Captain Jim, Miss Cornelia, and all the other characters who spend more time in her house than their own - that's Anne's true calling. Is it anti-feminist? Not at all. Anne isn't held back, she isn't put down, she doesn't kowtow to Gilbert. In fact, he, more than anyone, knows that Anne had plenty of choices and he's amazed and grateful that she chose him.
Also: written in 1917, people.
If anything, Montgomery is rather subversive in showing that women truly call the shots in the communities she creates.
December 10, 2020
What happened to Anne??
I miss the adventuring Young Anne - with haunted woods and dryad's bubble.
I wish we still had the College-gal Anne - with her little cottage of friends.
I would even prefer the Schoolmistress Anne - battling the Pringles and educating young minds.
Anne was strong, independent, with dreams and ambitions of writing. I liked to see how she reached out and over the heads of many women who were confined to traditional rolls.
And all of a sudden, her highest goal is to be married and to raise children. It's like L. M Montgomery flipped a switch.
I suppose at those times, women were expected to contentedly give up everything to raise the children but Anne used to have her heart set on so, so many things. And for her to give all that up without even the slightest protest??
She does still have her quiet dreamy-ness and her thoughtless meddling, but everything is so much tamer. So much more domestic.
This whole book had me questioning everything. Namely, what was even the point of the first four books?
We spend so much time following Anne through her education. She spent so many of years of her life doing her best in school solely so she could become a school teacher. Then, only a few years in, she completely drops everything??
L. M. Montgomery forced Anne into marriage and erased convenient bits of her personality to fit her into the mold.
Audiobook Comments
Read by Susan O'Malley and while the audiobook wasn't terrible...the plot of this book just gave me an overall negative impression.
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads
You'll stay right here with me, Anne-girl," said Gilbert lazily. "I won't have you flying away from me into the hearts of storms.Oh, that's right. She got married.
I miss the adventuring Young Anne - with haunted woods and dryad's bubble.
I wish we still had the College-gal Anne - with her little cottage of friends.
I would even prefer the Schoolmistress Anne - battling the Pringles and educating young minds.
Anne was strong, independent, with dreams and ambitions of writing. I liked to see how she reached out and over the heads of many women who were confined to traditional rolls.
And all of a sudden, her highest goal is to be married and to raise children. It's like L. M Montgomery flipped a switch.
I suppose at those times, women were expected to contentedly give up everything to raise the children but Anne used to have her heart set on so, so many things. And for her to give all that up without even the slightest protest??
She does still have her quiet dreamy-ness and her thoughtless meddling, but everything is so much tamer. So much more domestic.
Oh, Marilla, I thought I was happy before. Now I know that I just dreamed a pleasant dream of happiness. This is the reality.So...she does it because...happiness?
This whole book had me questioning everything. Namely, what was even the point of the first four books?
We spend so much time following Anne through her education. She spent so many of years of her life doing her best in school solely so she could become a school teacher. Then, only a few years in, she completely drops everything??
L. M. Montgomery forced Anne into marriage and erased convenient bits of her personality to fit her into the mold.
Audiobook Comments
Read by Susan O'Malley and while the audiobook wasn't terrible...the plot of this book just gave me an overall negative impression.
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads
February 15, 2022
Anne's House of Dreams (Anne of Green Gables #5), L.M. Montgomery
Anne's House of Dreams is a novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was first published in 1917 by McClelland, Goodchild and Stewart. The novel is from a series of books written primarily for girls and young women, about a young girl named Anne Shirley.
The books follow the course of Anne's life. It is set principally on Canada's Prince Edward Island, Montgomery's birthplace and home for much of her life.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و پنجم ماه سپتامبر سال2012میلادی
عنوان: آنی شرلی در خانه رویاها - کتاب پنجم؛ نویسنده: لوسی مود (ال.ام) مونتگمری؛ مترجم سارا قدیانی؛ تهران، قدیانی، سال1386؛ چاپ دوم سال1388؛ در391ص؛ شابک9789645361929؛ چاپ چهارم سال1390؛ چاپ پنجم سال1391؛ چاپ ششم سال1392؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان کانادا - سده20م
آن شرلی با «گیلبرت بلایت» ازدواج میکند، و برای زندگی به روستایی به نام «گلن سنت مری» میروند؛ او با همسایگان دوست میشود، و به همراه آنها ماجراهایی را تجربه و بوجود میاورد؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 07/12/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 25/11/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Anne's House of Dreams is a novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was first published in 1917 by McClelland, Goodchild and Stewart. The novel is from a series of books written primarily for girls and young women, about a young girl named Anne Shirley.
The books follow the course of Anne's life. It is set principally on Canada's Prince Edward Island, Montgomery's birthplace and home for much of her life.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و پنجم ماه سپتامبر سال2012میلادی
عنوان: آنی شرلی در خانه رویاها - کتاب پنجم؛ نویسنده: لوسی مود (ال.ام) مونتگمری؛ مترجم سارا قدیانی؛ تهران، قدیانی، سال1386؛ چاپ دوم سال1388؛ در391ص؛ شابک9789645361929؛ چاپ چهارم سال1390؛ چاپ پنجم سال1391؛ چاپ ششم سال1392؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان کانادا - سده20م
آن شرلی با «گیلبرت بلایت» ازدواج میکند، و برای زندگی به روستایی به نام «گلن سنت مری» میروند؛ او با همسایگان دوست میشود، و به همراه آنها ماجراهایی را تجربه و بوجود میاورد؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 07/12/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 25/11/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
June 29, 2020
A beautiful tale of the beginnings of marriage and family life for Anne and Gilbert. The added characters were lovable and balanced. Leslie's story was fascinating the way it played out, and Captain Jim was such a warm creation that I wished he were real. I am happily moving on to the next book, and to discover the next chapter in their lives.
January 1, 2022
The thing about the Anne of Green Gables series is that for the first three books, the best thing about them is Anne.
And then for the rest of the books, it is not. It is either a very small aspect of the book, or it is an absence, because the book is entirely without a best thing.
This is probably the last installment that has a best thing at all, and that best thing is the House of Dreams.
This book includes the beginning and the end of that as a setting, so even the singular pro has its cons.
In other this-book-related news (if you can call aspects of a hundred-plus year old book "news" at all), this includes so many uses of the phrases "kindred spirit" and "the race of Joseph" that if those terms were banned (as I now think they should be) this would probably lose 25% of its page count.
And the trend with the later installments of this series by which I both miss the characters from the first books and don't care about the new ones continues gloriously.
Bottom line: I am grumpy.
-----------------
pre-review
i ascribe to the Peter Pan belief system (no one should ever grow up, let alone own a home or get married or have babies), so this is antithetical to my morals.
review to come / 2.5
-----------------
currently-reading updates
anne shirley, a whimsical orphan girl: :)
anne blythe, a married woman with a house: :/
let's see how this goes.
clear ur sh*t book 32
quest 15: read a book with a female or non-binary MC
And then for the rest of the books, it is not. It is either a very small aspect of the book, or it is an absence, because the book is entirely without a best thing.
This is probably the last installment that has a best thing at all, and that best thing is the House of Dreams.
This book includes the beginning and the end of that as a setting, so even the singular pro has its cons.
In other this-book-related news (if you can call aspects of a hundred-plus year old book "news" at all), this includes so many uses of the phrases "kindred spirit" and "the race of Joseph" that if those terms were banned (as I now think they should be) this would probably lose 25% of its page count.
And the trend with the later installments of this series by which I both miss the characters from the first books and don't care about the new ones continues gloriously.
Bottom line: I am grumpy.
-----------------
pre-review
i ascribe to the Peter Pan belief system (no one should ever grow up, let alone own a home or get married or have babies), so this is antithetical to my morals.
review to come / 2.5
-----------------
currently-reading updates
anne shirley, a whimsical orphan girl: :)
anne blythe, a married woman with a house: :/
let's see how this goes.
clear ur sh*t book 32
quest 15: read a book with a female or non-binary MC
July 22, 2024
Why I chose to listen to this audiobook:
1. last year, I reread the first three books in this series (Anne of Green Gables; Anne of Avonlea; and Anne of the Island). A few months ago, I read Book #4 Anne of Windy Poplars. I wanted to continue by reading this one, Book #5;
2. a recent vacation to Green Gables Heritage Place on Prince Edward Island made this a most poignant read; and,
3. July 2024 is my self-appointed "O' Canada" Month (focus: Prince Edward Island).
Praises:
1. I'm impressed that author L.M. Montgomery waited until this book to have Anne finally marry Gilbert, but only after she attended college and became a career woman. We must remember that these stories take place in the early 1900s!
2. I loved the new fictional setting of Four Winds Harbour on the Island where Anne's "House of Dreams" is located. Montgomery's detailed descriptions make me feel like I'm truly there; and,
3. once again, we see Anne meeting new neighbors and making new friends who become kindred spirits. Like in the previous "Anne" books, Montgomery portrays new characters through their lively, gossipy conversations. I really enjoyed those between Captain Jim and Miss Cornelia. At times, I felt concern, sometimes cringed, but often laughed out loud while listening to these discussions.
Tiny Niggle:
A minute error was made in the audio version, when the narrator mentions "cherry pie' when, in fact, it was supposed to be "strawberry pie". I probably would've missed this mistake if there wasn't such a big deal made about the strawberry pie earlier in the chapter.
Overall Thoughts:
Reading an "Anne" book is so good for my soul! Heartwarming, yet at times, heartbreaking, this series continues to exude charm, serenity, and whimsy - just what my heart (and brain) need!
1. last year, I reread the first three books in this series (Anne of Green Gables; Anne of Avonlea; and Anne of the Island). A few months ago, I read Book #4 Anne of Windy Poplars. I wanted to continue by reading this one, Book #5;
2. a recent vacation to Green Gables Heritage Place on Prince Edward Island made this a most poignant read; and,
3. July 2024 is my self-appointed "O' Canada" Month (focus: Prince Edward Island).
Praises:
1. I'm impressed that author L.M. Montgomery waited until this book to have Anne finally marry Gilbert, but only after she attended college and became a career woman. We must remember that these stories take place in the early 1900s!
2. I loved the new fictional setting of Four Winds Harbour on the Island where Anne's "House of Dreams" is located. Montgomery's detailed descriptions make me feel like I'm truly there; and,
3. once again, we see Anne meeting new neighbors and making new friends who become kindred spirits. Like in the previous "Anne" books, Montgomery portrays new characters through their lively, gossipy conversations. I really enjoyed those between Captain Jim and Miss Cornelia. At times, I felt concern, sometimes cringed, but often laughed out loud while listening to these discussions.
Tiny Niggle:
A minute error was made in the audio version, when the narrator mentions "cherry pie' when, in fact, it was supposed to be "strawberry pie". I probably would've missed this mistake if there wasn't such a big deal made about the strawberry pie earlier in the chapter.
Overall Thoughts:
Reading an "Anne" book is so good for my soul! Heartwarming, yet at times, heartbreaking, this series continues to exude charm, serenity, and whimsy - just what my heart (and brain) need!
May 4, 2020
"Anne was always romantic, you know," said Marilla apologetically.
"Well, married life will most likely cure her of that," Mrs. Lynde responded comfortingly.
Woo-hoo! This is the moment we've been waiting for - the wedding of Anne and Gilbert.
After a simple ceremony at Green Gables, the two lovebirds head to a small house in Four Winds Harbour. (As this book was first published in 1917, there are, of course, no details of the wedding night. That's rather a pity, as I would love to hear Anne's comments about sex.) It's not long until Anne meets her charming and eccentric neighbors: Captain Jim, an elderly sea dog who is bursting with tales about the local area, the lovely and ethereal Leslie, whose life has been touched by so much tragedy, and Miss Cornelia, an opinionated, though kindly, spinster, who has seldom known the luxury of an unexpressed thought. She's not a big fan of the masculine gender; one of her most used expressions is "isn't that just like a man."
"I like a man who can stick to a thing," retorted Miss Cornelia. "Amos Grant, who used to be after me long ago, couldn't. You never saw such a weather-vane. He jumped into the pond to drown himself once and then changed his mind and swum out again. Wasn't that just like a man? Marshall would have stuck to it and drowned."
As always, Anne is surrounded by love and laughter, great joy and sadness. This is my third visit to this book, and it remains one of my favorites of the series.
"Well, married life will most likely cure her of that," Mrs. Lynde responded comfortingly.
Woo-hoo! This is the moment we've been waiting for - the wedding of Anne and Gilbert.
After a simple ceremony at Green Gables, the two lovebirds head to a small house in Four Winds Harbour. (As this book was first published in 1917, there are, of course, no details of the wedding night. That's rather a pity, as I would love to hear Anne's comments about sex.) It's not long until Anne meets her charming and eccentric neighbors: Captain Jim, an elderly sea dog who is bursting with tales about the local area, the lovely and ethereal Leslie, whose life has been touched by so much tragedy, and Miss Cornelia, an opinionated, though kindly, spinster, who has seldom known the luxury of an unexpressed thought. She's not a big fan of the masculine gender; one of her most used expressions is "isn't that just like a man."
"I like a man who can stick to a thing," retorted Miss Cornelia. "Amos Grant, who used to be after me long ago, couldn't. You never saw such a weather-vane. He jumped into the pond to drown himself once and then changed his mind and swum out again. Wasn't that just like a man? Marshall would have stuck to it and drowned."
As always, Anne is surrounded by love and laughter, great joy and sadness. This is my third visit to this book, and it remains one of my favorites of the series.
June 18, 2007
Sadly, my enjoyment of Montgomery's Anne series diminishes as the series goes along. While even those books set outside of Avonlea still manage to contain wonderful characters who add such lovely color to the stories, especially the Redmond group and the clan at Windy Poplars, once Anne is married and sets up house the appeal goes right out the window for me. One must agree with Gilbert's statement in House of Dreams, that many people would indeed think that Anne, a Redmond B.A. and a published author, is wasted as wife to a poor country doctor. While I as a young girl could relate to Anne in her educational endeavors, I could not relate to her once she set all that aside to become a housewife and mother of six children. I so wanted to like the later books, and was sad when I did not.
July 20, 2020
"I have a little brown cocoon of an idea that may possibly expand into a magnificent moth of fulfillment,"
House of Dreams picks up right where the series left of at Windy Poplars. Beginning chapters will make one feel both happy and a bit sad, for there are joyous celebrations along with a farewell, though not emphasized thoroughly, will break the hears of some of the readers. At least, I was happy to have found it in a beginning of a book, where the journey will quickly make up for it.
The author, yet again, does not fail to deliver an engaging story, with a new set of characters. It is amazing how similar is each book in terms of this style of narration while the reader is not being made feel there is any repetitiveness at all with the stories. Hope it will be same till the end of the series.
"It takes all kinds of people to make a world."
House of Dreams picks up right where the series left of at Windy Poplars. Beginning chapters will make one feel both happy and a bit sad, for there are joyous celebrations along with a farewell, though not emphasized thoroughly, will break the hears of some of the readers. At least, I was happy to have found it in a beginning of a book, where the journey will quickly make up for it.
The author, yet again, does not fail to deliver an engaging story, with a new set of characters. It is amazing how similar is each book in terms of this style of narration while the reader is not being made feel there is any repetitiveness at all with the stories. Hope it will be same till the end of the series.
"It takes all kinds of people to make a world."
July 3, 2024
5+ stars (9/10 hearts). All the Anne books are beautiful, but this one is particularly lovely and touching. It’s just so gorgeous and I can’t stop tearing up or laughing aloud. Anne & Gilbert's romance is absolutely wonderful. The kind you dream of and wish for. I am always touched by how beautiful their love for each other is.
The setting is simply magnificent and I can’t get enough of the sea and ships part of the book—those descriptions make my waves-loving heart happy. And then the characters. Captain Jim…. ah, Captain Jim. He is wonderful. How can you love him so much when he only figures in this one book? What a good, wise, admirable man. <3 Miss Cornelia, so hilarious and kind, and Susan, so simple and humorous, and Owen, so passionate, and Leslie, so broken and yet so strong… and Anne, so much deeper than ever before.
There is great sorrow and great beauty in this book. The tragedies and beauties of life, the adventures and everyday events, are woven so sweetly together. There is so much passion and wonder and love… so much truth. This is my second-favourite of the Anne books. <3 I love the whole series so much. It’s my favourite book series ever. But some of the books are a little better than the others… In my humble opinion, Rilla of Ingleside is THE best. But I *love* Anne’s House of Dreams. It’s such a paradox. Heartbreaking and swelling with joy. Beautiful and somber. Powerful and gentle. Alive and dreamy. I love the setting, so gorgeous, so moody, so shifting. I love the people—living, vibrant, with their own flaws and virtues, their darkness and light. I love the humour, so brilliant and homely. But the love—the LOVE that fills this book. The love of Anne and Gilbert for each other and their babies. Captain Jim’s love for everyone and everyone’s love for him.… and the same for Miss Cornelia. Leslie’s love for Anne… Anne’s love for Leslie… and Owen’s love for Leslie… mother love and romantic love and friendship love. It’s a picture of life.
Content: 3 mentions of suicide, one rather detailed; 1 kiss mentioned in passing; and Leslie’s story is very tragical/difficult, so that I recommend this book for ages 18+.
A Favourite Quote: “I don’t want to. I know how you feel about it, Mistress Blythe—just as I feel meself. But it ain’t our feelings we have to steer by through life—no, no, we’d make shipwreck mighty often if we did that. There’s only the one safe compass and we’ve got to set our course by that—what it’s right to do.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: It was an exquisite morning, full of tints and sounds at once ripe and delicate. The harbour was sparkling and dimpling like a girl; white gulls were soaring over the dunes; beyond the bar was a shining, wonderful sea. The long fields by the shore were dewy and fresh in that first fine, purely-tinted light. The wind came dancing and whistling up the channel to replace the beautiful silence with a music more beautiful still.
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Now, now, Cornelia,” remonstrated Captain Jim[,] “you shouldn’t say that about those two ... boys, unless you’ve got certain proof. Jest because their father ain’t none too honest isn’t any reason for calling them thieves. It’s more likely it’s been the robins took your cherries. They’re turrible thick this year.”
“Robins!” said Miss Cornelia disdainfully. “Humph! Two-legged robins, believe ME!”
“Well, most of the Four Winds robins ARE constructed on that principle,” said Captain Jim gravely.
The setting is simply magnificent and I can’t get enough of the sea and ships part of the book—those descriptions make my waves-loving heart happy. And then the characters. Captain Jim…. ah, Captain Jim. He is wonderful. How can you love him so much when he only figures in this one book? What a good, wise, admirable man. <3 Miss Cornelia, so hilarious and kind, and Susan, so simple and humorous, and Owen, so passionate, and Leslie, so broken and yet so strong… and Anne, so much deeper than ever before.
There is great sorrow and great beauty in this book. The tragedies and beauties of life, the adventures and everyday events, are woven so sweetly together. There is so much passion and wonder and love… so much truth. This is my second-favourite of the Anne books. <3 I love the whole series so much. It’s my favourite book series ever. But some of the books are a little better than the others… In my humble opinion, Rilla of Ingleside is THE best. But I *love* Anne’s House of Dreams. It’s such a paradox. Heartbreaking and swelling with joy. Beautiful and somber. Powerful and gentle. Alive and dreamy. I love the setting, so gorgeous, so moody, so shifting. I love the people—living, vibrant, with their own flaws and virtues, their darkness and light. I love the humour, so brilliant and homely. But the love—the LOVE that fills this book. The love of Anne and Gilbert for each other and their babies. Captain Jim’s love for everyone and everyone’s love for him.… and the same for Miss Cornelia. Leslie’s love for Anne… Anne’s love for Leslie… and Owen’s love for Leslie… mother love and romantic love and friendship love. It’s a picture of life.
Content: 3 mentions of suicide, one rather detailed; 1 kiss mentioned in passing; and Leslie’s story is very tragical/difficult, so that I recommend this book for ages 18+.
A Favourite Quote: “I don’t want to. I know how you feel about it, Mistress Blythe—just as I feel meself. But it ain’t our feelings we have to steer by through life—no, no, we’d make shipwreck mighty often if we did that. There’s only the one safe compass and we’ve got to set our course by that—what it’s right to do.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: It was an exquisite morning, full of tints and sounds at once ripe and delicate. The harbour was sparkling and dimpling like a girl; white gulls were soaring over the dunes; beyond the bar was a shining, wonderful sea. The long fields by the shore were dewy and fresh in that first fine, purely-tinted light. The wind came dancing and whistling up the channel to replace the beautiful silence with a music more beautiful still.
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Now, now, Cornelia,” remonstrated Captain Jim[,] “you shouldn’t say that about those two ... boys, unless you’ve got certain proof. Jest because their father ain’t none too honest isn’t any reason for calling them thieves. It’s more likely it’s been the robins took your cherries. They’re turrible thick this year.”
“Robins!” said Miss Cornelia disdainfully. “Humph! Two-legged robins, believe ME!”
“Well, most of the Four Winds robins ARE constructed on that principle,” said Captain Jim gravely.
March 12, 2016
I enjoyed this, though not as much as precious books! I still love Anne and Gilbert and I really love all the new characters and Four Winds! Just so lovely.
October 25, 2022
تو برای روح پرتلاطم من مثل یک لنگری.
July 26, 2021
This was much different from the previous books in the series. The book starts off with a trip down memory lane and preparations for Gilbert and Anne's wedding. Fourteen years after Anne arrived at Green Gables, she now marries Gilbert and together they move into their house of dreams!
While the story starts off lighthearted and optimistic, it then takes on a more serious and darker tone. That took me by surprise; it wasn't the case in Books 1-4. Regardless, new characters are introduced and the story was engaging throughout. I'm looking forward to continuing with this series.
While the story starts off lighthearted and optimistic, it then takes on a more serious and darker tone. That took me by surprise; it wasn't the case in Books 1-4. Regardless, new characters are introduced and the story was engaging throughout. I'm looking forward to continuing with this series.
February 13, 2017
I hate to admit that the first half bored me to tears but the second half gave me so many feelings!
March 18, 2017
These books have a special place in my heart now <3 I can definitely see these being ones that I will reread over and over again as I get older! :D Like I've said before, the characters are just what makes these books so great to me! We got to meet some new ones in this one...Captain Jim, Miss Cornelia, and Leslie Moore are a few :) I was surprised by how much development Leslie's character went through in the story and I just enjoyed seeing her grow. I loved getting to see Anne and Gilbert as husband and wife of course too! :))
It is getting much harder now to try and pick a favorite Anne book :P, but for right now I think this one and Anne of the Island are tied and the very first one is my second favorite!
It is getting much harder now to try and pick a favorite Anne book :P, but for right now I think this one and Anne of the Island are tied and the very first one is my second favorite!
May 8, 2023
I bought a box set of the Anne of Green Gables series, that for some reason only included the first four published novels, which means that I skipped Anne of Windy Poplars, which is technically set between Anne of the Island and Anne's House of Dreams, but I don't really care because I've heard mostly terrible things about that book anyways and I usually prefer reading series in their publication order as opposed to their in-world chronological order (Narnia series, I am looking at you.)
Some of you know that I absolute adore the first book in the series. I fell in love with Anne, Matthew and Marilla, Green Gables, and Anne's school friends. I loved the book so much that I was hesitant to pick up its sequels ... and it turns out my hesitation was justified. I absolutely hated the second and third book in the series. To me, Montgomery butchered all of the characters that we grew to love in the first book and she introduced new characters that no one cares about. It was such a shame because Anne's first days as a teacher and her time at Redmond College could've been so fun and served as a nice backdrop for new silly adventures, but instead Montgomery sucked the fun right out of Anne's life, put her on a pedestal for all other characters to adore, and basically wrote a pamphlet on how to be a good Christian wife. Bleh.
Without the box set, I never would've picked up Anne House of Dreams. I was done with the series. But now I'm actually quite satisfied that it did read the "fifth" book, since out of the three sequels it is by faaaar my favorite. Granted, the bar was in hell (whereas for book 2 and 3 I had very high expectations) and I had more time to prepare for what kind of story I was getting myself into, but I did enjoy the bleak reality of Anne's new life.
Gone are the days of lightheartedness. Anne's life lowkey sucks now. Gilbert lowkey sucks now. Genuinely terrifying things happen to her now – like the death of her newborn baby, like dealing with a friend in an abusive relationship – as opposed to the silly scrapes of her childhood. She's a wife now. She becomes a mother. None of her childish dreams came true. Anne, in fact, did not change the world. She's not a special bean chosen to live an independent, carefree life in Canada's wilderness. She's a housewife, married to a small town doctor. It took some adjustment on my behalf but once I got my head wrapped around those ideas, it was easier to accept them.
Anne's House of Dreams begins with Anne and Gilbert's wedding, which takes place in the Green Gables orchard. It's not as memorable or beautiful as Anne or I have imagined previously. The whole ordeal is actually quite forgettable. Still, there were quite a few things that rubbed me the wrong way about this wedding:
1. When Diana asks Anne if she's at least going to wear a veil, Anne replies: "Yes, indeed. I shouldn't feel like a bride without one. I remember telling Matthew, that evening when he brought me to Green Gables, that I never expected to be a bride because I was so homely no one would ever want to marry me—unless some foreign missionary did. I had an idea then that foreign missionaries couldn't afford to be finicky in the matter of looks if they wanted a girl to risk her life among cannibals." So, we're starting this book off with racism, great.
2. When Diana compliments Anne's wedding dress, she also says: "You'll look like a perfect queen in it—you're so tall and slender. How do you keep so slim, Anne? I'm fatter than ever—I'll soon have no waist at all." So, the little we get of Diana in this book is her complaining about how "fat" she's become. Great. I love it here.
3. Jane is amongst the wedding guests and this is how Montgomery describes her: "Jane was not brilliant, and had probably never made a remark worth listening to in her life; but she never said anything that would hurt anyone's feelings—which may be a negative talent but is likewise a rare and enviable one." – What the hell is going on here? Why is she so fucking judgemental? I simply hate it here.
But to balance things out, there were also some good things about the wedding, namely:
1. Anne making a pilgrimage to Matthew's grave: "She had a little pilgrimage to make on this last day of her girlhood and she must make it alone. She went to Matthew's grave, in the little poplar-shaded Avonlea graveyard, and there kept a silent tryst with old memories and immortal loves." Whenever Matthew is mentioned I simply loose it and start sobbing.
2. And, albeit endlessly sad as well, I also loved the bleakness at the end of the ceremony when Anne and Gilbert leave to move to their new home in another town: "Anne turned at its end to wave her last good-bye. She was gone—Green Gables was her home no more; Marilla's face looked very grey and old as she turned to the house which Anne had filled for fourteen years, and even in her absence, with light and life." It's so fucking sad but at the same time just as realistic.
So, anyways, Anne and Gilbert move into a small house on the seashore at Four Winds Point where he is able to take over his uncle's medical practice. In Four Winds, Anne and Gilbert meet many interesting people, such as Captain Jim, a former sailor who is now the keeper of the lighthouse, and Miss Cornelia Bryant, an unmarried woman in her 40s who lives alone in an emerald-green house and deems the Blythes part of "the race that knows Joseph". Anne also meets her new neighbour, Leslie Moore, who was forced by her mother to marry the mean-spirited and unscrupulous Dick Moore at age 16.
"The race that knows Joseph" is the new "kindred spirit" and Montgomery uses the phrase 200 times too much in this fucking book, but the new characters are actually great in this book! I especially loved Miss Cornelia and Leslie Moore. What I didn't appreciate is how different Gilbert felt in this book. He was so mean and rude??? When Doctor Dave tells them about Cornelia Bryant upon their arrival at Four Winds Point, she following dialogue ensues:
I also don't really love the dynamic between Anne and Gilbert as a married couple because it's very clear that Montgomery went for a very traditional power balance with Gilbert on top. And he also kept saying shit like: "You'll stay right here with me, Anne-girl, I won't have you flying away from me into the hearts of storms." – which made me very uncomfortable and sad and made me wanna like "RUN" to dear Anne. But at the same time, it's quite the realistic portrayal of marriage for women at the time. It ain't fun. After her first Christmas dinner was a great success, Anne beamed with "housewifely pride" and that's her life now, I guess.
To give you an example why "man-hater" icon of the century Miss Cornelia Bryant was my favorite character in this book, it is because she dropped gems like this 24/7: "Jennie Dean thought when she married that there wasn't anybody like HER husband in the world. And she was right—there wasn't! And a good thing, too, believe ME!" LOVE HER TO DEATH!
Anyways, besides Gilbert's poor judgement, Anne becomes friends with Leslie, even though she is sometimes (understandably!!) resentful that she can never have what Anne does, aka some sort of freedom.
Marilla visits to assist Anne in the birth of her first child, Joyce, however, the child dies shortly after birth. Generally I think Montgomery handled the topic of infancy death quite well, having lost her second son in real life,
Later on Leslie rents a room in her house to a writer named Owen Ford. Owen, who is looking to write the Great Canadian Novel, finds the inspiration he was looking for in Captain Jim's shipboard diary, and transforms it into "The Life-Book of Captain Jim". While Owen is finishing the novel, he and Leslie independently realize they have feelings for each other (when I tell you, baby, I am shipping them so hard right now, they truly filled the gap that Anne and Gilbert left behind), but both know they cannot do anything about it because Leslie is quite literally trapped in her marriage to Dick. Owen leaves the Island heartbroken, leaving a miserable Leslie behind.
Besties, I know this is crazy and very unrealistic, but I LOVE this. I don't love that Leslie put her life on hold for 12 fucking years to care for George, but the fact that Montgomery set her free makes me so damn happy. Her engagement with Owen is just the cherry on top.
At the end of the book, Anne gives birth to her second child, a healthy son, whom she names James Matthew (do you hear me sobbing?). Owen Ford's book is published, and Captain Jim dies with a smile on his face after reading his advance copy. Miss Cornelia announces that she has decided to marry Marshall Elliott (don't really care about that). Finally, Anne, Gilbert, Jem and their housekeeper, Susan Baker, move to the old Morgan house in the Glen, later to be named Ingleside. Anne is greatly saddened to leave the House of Dreams, but knows that the little house is outgrown and Gilbert's work as a doctor requires him to live closer to town.
Some of you know that I absolute adore the first book in the series. I fell in love with Anne, Matthew and Marilla, Green Gables, and Anne's school friends. I loved the book so much that I was hesitant to pick up its sequels ... and it turns out my hesitation was justified. I absolutely hated the second and third book in the series. To me, Montgomery butchered all of the characters that we grew to love in the first book and she introduced new characters that no one cares about. It was such a shame because Anne's first days as a teacher and her time at Redmond College could've been so fun and served as a nice backdrop for new silly adventures, but instead Montgomery sucked the fun right out of Anne's life, put her on a pedestal for all other characters to adore, and basically wrote a pamphlet on how to be a good Christian wife. Bleh.
Without the box set, I never would've picked up Anne House of Dreams. I was done with the series. But now I'm actually quite satisfied that it did read the "fifth" book, since out of the three sequels it is by faaaar my favorite. Granted, the bar was in hell (whereas for book 2 and 3 I had very high expectations) and I had more time to prepare for what kind of story I was getting myself into, but I did enjoy the bleak reality of Anne's new life.
Gone are the days of lightheartedness. Anne's life lowkey sucks now. Gilbert lowkey sucks now. Genuinely terrifying things happen to her now – like the death of her newborn baby, like dealing with a friend in an abusive relationship – as opposed to the silly scrapes of her childhood. She's a wife now. She becomes a mother. None of her childish dreams came true. Anne, in fact, did not change the world. She's not a special bean chosen to live an independent, carefree life in Canada's wilderness. She's a housewife, married to a small town doctor. It took some adjustment on my behalf but once I got my head wrapped around those ideas, it was easier to accept them.
Anne's House of Dreams begins with Anne and Gilbert's wedding, which takes place in the Green Gables orchard. It's not as memorable or beautiful as Anne or I have imagined previously. The whole ordeal is actually quite forgettable. Still, there were quite a few things that rubbed me the wrong way about this wedding:
1. When Diana asks Anne if she's at least going to wear a veil, Anne replies: "Yes, indeed. I shouldn't feel like a bride without one. I remember telling Matthew, that evening when he brought me to Green Gables, that I never expected to be a bride because I was so homely no one would ever want to marry me—unless some foreign missionary did. I had an idea then that foreign missionaries couldn't afford to be finicky in the matter of looks if they wanted a girl to risk her life among cannibals." So, we're starting this book off with racism, great.
2. When Diana compliments Anne's wedding dress, she also says: "You'll look like a perfect queen in it—you're so tall and slender. How do you keep so slim, Anne? I'm fatter than ever—I'll soon have no waist at all." So, the little we get of Diana in this book is her complaining about how "fat" she's become. Great. I love it here.
3. Jane is amongst the wedding guests and this is how Montgomery describes her: "Jane was not brilliant, and had probably never made a remark worth listening to in her life; but she never said anything that would hurt anyone's feelings—which may be a negative talent but is likewise a rare and enviable one." – What the hell is going on here? Why is she so fucking judgemental? I simply hate it here.
But to balance things out, there were also some good things about the wedding, namely:
1. Anne making a pilgrimage to Matthew's grave: "She had a little pilgrimage to make on this last day of her girlhood and she must make it alone. She went to Matthew's grave, in the little poplar-shaded Avonlea graveyard, and there kept a silent tryst with old memories and immortal loves." Whenever Matthew is mentioned I simply loose it and start sobbing.
2. And, albeit endlessly sad as well, I also loved the bleakness at the end of the ceremony when Anne and Gilbert leave to move to their new home in another town: "Anne turned at its end to wave her last good-bye. She was gone—Green Gables was her home no more; Marilla's face looked very grey and old as she turned to the house which Anne had filled for fourteen years, and even in her absence, with light and life." It's so fucking sad but at the same time just as realistic.
So, anyways, Anne and Gilbert move into a small house on the seashore at Four Winds Point where he is able to take over his uncle's medical practice. In Four Winds, Anne and Gilbert meet many interesting people, such as Captain Jim, a former sailor who is now the keeper of the lighthouse, and Miss Cornelia Bryant, an unmarried woman in her 40s who lives alone in an emerald-green house and deems the Blythes part of "the race that knows Joseph". Anne also meets her new neighbour, Leslie Moore, who was forced by her mother to marry the mean-spirited and unscrupulous Dick Moore at age 16.
"The race that knows Joseph" is the new "kindred spirit" and Montgomery uses the phrase 200 times too much in this fucking book, but the new characters are actually great in this book! I especially loved Miss Cornelia and Leslie Moore. What I didn't appreciate is how different Gilbert felt in this book. He was so mean and rude??? When Doctor Dave tells them about Cornelia Bryant upon their arrival at Four Winds Point, she following dialogue ensues:
"She's quite a character," chuckled Doctor Dave. "A most inveterate man-hater!""Sour grapes"???? Is he for real? I hate this man. When the Blythes learn of Leslie's horrible fate – her husband was hella abusive but then disappeared on a sea voyage for a year, she felt finally free but then Jim found him in Cuba and brought him home, brain-damaged and generally helpless, and now she has to take care of him 24/7 because he's like a "big baby" – Gilbert has the audacity to say: "A fine woman would have made the best of it. Mrs. Moore has evidently let it make her bitter and resentful." IS HE FOR REAL RIGHT NOW??? GILBERT YOU WILL LITERALLY CATCH THESE HANDS!!!
"Sour grapes?" queried Gilbert, laughing.
I also don't really love the dynamic between Anne and Gilbert as a married couple because it's very clear that Montgomery went for a very traditional power balance with Gilbert on top. And he also kept saying shit like: "You'll stay right here with me, Anne-girl, I won't have you flying away from me into the hearts of storms." – which made me very uncomfortable and sad and made me wanna like "RUN" to dear Anne. But at the same time, it's quite the realistic portrayal of marriage for women at the time. It ain't fun. After her first Christmas dinner was a great success, Anne beamed with "housewifely pride" and that's her life now, I guess.
To give you an example why "man-hater" icon of the century Miss Cornelia Bryant was my favorite character in this book, it is because she dropped gems like this 24/7: "Jennie Dean thought when she married that there wasn't anybody like HER husband in the world. And she was right—there wasn't! And a good thing, too, believe ME!" LOVE HER TO DEATH!
Anyways, besides Gilbert's poor judgement, Anne becomes friends with Leslie, even though she is sometimes (understandably!!) resentful that she can never have what Anne does, aka some sort of freedom.
Marilla visits to assist Anne in the birth of her first child, Joyce, however, the child dies shortly after birth. Generally I think Montgomery handled the topic of infancy death quite well, having lost her second son in real life,
"It won't hurt so much always, Anne."however, the only thing I didn't quite enjoy about it is that Anne and Leslie become closer after Joyce's death because Leslie now feels that Anne "understands" pain and tragedy better:
"The thought that it may stop hurting sometimes hurts me worse than all else, Marilla."
"I hope you won't misunderstand me if I say something else. Anne, I was grieved to the core of my heart when you lost your baby; and if I could have saved her for you by cutting off one of my hands I would have done it. But your sorrow has brought us closer together. Your perfect happiness isn't a barrier any longer. Oh, don't misunderstand, dearest—I'm NOT glad that your happiness isn't perfect any longer—I can say that sincerely; but since it isn't, there isn't such a gulf between us."And I guess that makes sense on some weird level but I still don't enjoy how this was framed and that Leslie actually shared that with Anne?? If I had been Anne I would've been livid because in that one instant Leslie made it about herself and her feelings when Anne quite literally has just lost her baby. It's a no from me.
Later on Leslie rents a room in her house to a writer named Owen Ford. Owen, who is looking to write the Great Canadian Novel, finds the inspiration he was looking for in Captain Jim's shipboard diary, and transforms it into "The Life-Book of Captain Jim". While Owen is finishing the novel, he and Leslie independently realize they have feelings for each other (when I tell you, baby, I am shipping them so hard right now, they truly filled the gap that Anne and Gilbert left behind), but both know they cannot do anything about it because Leslie is quite literally trapped in her marriage to Dick. Owen leaves the Island heartbroken, leaving a miserable Leslie behind.
"It wouldn't be so hard to go and leave her if she were only happy," resumed Owen passionately. "But to think of her living death—to realise what it is to which I do leave her! THAT is the worst of all. I would give my life to make her happy—and I can do nothing even to help her—nothing. She is bound forever to that poor wretch—with nothing to look forward to but growing old in a succession of empty, meaningless, barren years. It drives me mad to think of it. But I must go through my life, never seeing her, but always knowing what she is enduring. It's hideous—hideous!"Owen, baby, YES YES YES. I feel you. Issa tragedy. Montgomery truly left me gooped and gagged when it is ultimately revealed Dick isn't Dick after all. After Gilbert's suggestion, Dick undergoes brain surgery and is (magically) restored to his old self, he reveals that he is actually Dick's cousin George, Dick himself died of yellow fever in Cuba 12 years ago. George resembles Dick strongly because their fathers were brothers and their mothers were sisters, and both had the same peculiar eye colouring abnormality (heterochromia) by which Captain Jim recognized "Dick" in Cuba years before.
Besties, I know this is crazy and very unrealistic, but I LOVE this. I don't love that Leslie put her life on hold for 12 fucking years to care for George, but the fact that Montgomery set her free makes me so damn happy. Her engagement with Owen is just the cherry on top.
At the end of the book, Anne gives birth to her second child, a healthy son, whom she names James Matthew (do you hear me sobbing?). Owen Ford's book is published, and Captain Jim dies with a smile on his face after reading his advance copy. Miss Cornelia announces that she has decided to marry Marshall Elliott (don't really care about that). Finally, Anne, Gilbert, Jem and their housekeeper, Susan Baker, move to the old Morgan house in the Glen, later to be named Ingleside. Anne is greatly saddened to leave the House of Dreams, but knows that the little house is outgrown and Gilbert's work as a doctor requires him to live closer to town.
February 4, 2020
While of course L.M. Montgomery's Anne's House of Dreams describes Anne and Gilbert's life as newlyweds, the novel should also and equally be considered not only as the most sentimental but also in my opinion as the most obviously and deliberately poetic and philosophical of the Anne of Green Gables stories. It celebrates home and passion, the all important bonds of deep affection (not to mention glorifying the caressing and enchanting magic and lyrical pull of the sea, of the ocean), sometimes with a trifle too much overt emotionality to be sure, but frankly, I for one have always both appreciated and much enjoyed that Anne's House of Dreams is not just the account of the Blythes' newly-wedded bliss. For indeed and in fact, if one considers Anne's House of Dreams as a whole, as an all encompassing entity, Anne's House of Dreams is primarily an account of the immense and lasting importance of deep rooted and lasting adult friendships and relationships (Leslie Moore and Anne Blythe, The Blythes' friendship with Captain Jim, and yes, even Anne and Gilbert, while of course now married, have always considered their bond with one another first and foremost as a link between good comrades, between good and sweet friends, and yes, one also and of course cannot and should not forget Miss Cornelia Bryant, who even though she always and forever claims to despise men is still engaged in a very deep and personal friendship not only with Anne and Leslie but also with both Gilbert and Captain Jim). And therefore in Anne's House of Dreams not only Anne and Gilbert's marriage but actually almost ALL of the diverse relationships presented and featured by L.M. Montgomery tend to evocatively and caressingly conjure up a specifically enchanted and poetic environs and landscape where to quote Miss Cornelia "the race that knows Joseph" (where kindred spirits) are able to live, thrive and feel both safe and loved (and indeed also somewhat protected). And while sadness, tragedy and even possible evil, although horrors certainly do threaten and raise their dangerous thorns at times, in the end, home, love, friendship and trust are omnipresently there to always rebuild and reaffirm.
Now for those readers who are used to L.M. Montgomery's fiction being primarily positive accounts of sugar, spice and everything nice, Anne's House of Dreams might well be a bit of a shock to their reading expectations, as both Leslie Moore's life story as well as Anne's own tragedy of her firstborn daughter dying immediately post birth do rather vividly demonstrate and point out that L.M. Montgomery was both well aware that life can also often be filled with sadness and pain and that she was also more than willing to depict this, to actually put this down on paper (and indeed to even have her main protagonist, to have Anne Shirley/Blythe experience this). And actually, for me personally, it is in fact and indeed the episodes of depicted and related sadness, and primarily both Leslie Moore's sad story of thwarted love and being basically sold in marriage and Anne Blythe losing her first born child immediately after birth that do make Anne's House of Dreams such an enjoyable and also sadly realistic tale (a story rendered all the more lovely and satisfying by the fact that the pain and tragedy of Leslie's and Anne's experiences then later make both Leslie finding and marrying Owen Ford and Anne giving birth to a healthy baby, to little Jem, all the more sweet, although I do indeed realise and accept that some readers might possibly find how Leslie Moore's story is related and how it unfolds a bit too over-the-top and unbelievable).
Now for those readers who are used to L.M. Montgomery's fiction being primarily positive accounts of sugar, spice and everything nice, Anne's House of Dreams might well be a bit of a shock to their reading expectations, as both Leslie Moore's life story as well as Anne's own tragedy of her firstborn daughter dying immediately post birth do rather vividly demonstrate and point out that L.M. Montgomery was both well aware that life can also often be filled with sadness and pain and that she was also more than willing to depict this, to actually put this down on paper (and indeed to even have her main protagonist, to have Anne Shirley/Blythe experience this). And actually, for me personally, it is in fact and indeed the episodes of depicted and related sadness, and primarily both Leslie Moore's sad story of thwarted love and being basically sold in marriage and Anne Blythe losing her first born child immediately after birth that do make Anne's House of Dreams such an enjoyable and also sadly realistic tale (a story rendered all the more lovely and satisfying by the fact that the pain and tragedy of Leslie's and Anne's experiences then later make both Leslie finding and marrying Owen Ford and Anne giving birth to a healthy baby, to little Jem, all the more sweet, although I do indeed realise and accept that some readers might possibly find how Leslie Moore's story is related and how it unfolds a bit too over-the-top and unbelievable).
April 30, 2024
هر کتاب که جلوتر میرم، خانم مونت گومری بازهم من رو بیشتر از پیش شگفتزده میکنه. این جلد پر از احساسات انسانی فوقالعاده و شخصیتهای جدید و دوستداشتنی بود و خیلی خوشحالم که تو این بازه از زندگیم، این کتاب روشنی روزهام شد :)
انتهای این جلد پر از حس غم آمیخته با شادی قریب الوقوعی بود که انتظارش رو تو کتاب بعدی و «خونه رویاها»ی جدید میکشم.
انتهای این جلد پر از حس غم آمیخته با شادی قریب الوقوعی بود که انتظارش رو تو کتاب بعدی و «خونه رویاها»ی جدید میکشم.
June 2, 2017
I've always been and always will be one of Anne's biggest fans! Her poetic love for the world and her vivid imagination has always capture me in ways unexplainable. Even so, I've never read this particular book, for reasons beyond me.
This is most definitely my favourite! It makes you smile, it makes you cry and it makes you feel.
To think I've missed out on it before is almost heartbreaking. But never the less, it's part of me now and I will forever cherish it and hold it O so close to my heart.
L.M Montgomery is the Queen of her era!
This is most definitely my favourite! It makes you smile, it makes you cry and it makes you feel.
To think I've missed out on it before is almost heartbreaking. But never the less, it's part of me now and I will forever cherish it and hold it O so close to my heart.
L.M Montgomery is the Queen of her era!
December 15, 2017
Anne and Gilbert are finally reunited and move to Four Winds in their House of Dreams (I wonder how many times that phrase is used in this book teehee). Montgomery has once again created a new cast of characters in Captain Jim, Ms Cornelia Bryant (sounds just like a man!) and beautiful Leslie Moore. I enjoyed this jaunt into the newlywed's life on another part of the island. I enjoyed getting to know Leslie's dark past and appreciated the darker undertones in this novel and the strong female protagonist characters that can stand up for themselves.
I am enjoying this series and I really love being introduced to these wonderful new characters, while still getting interactions with the older, beloved cast. Looking forward to the next one.
I am enjoying this series and I really love being introduced to these wonderful new characters, while still getting interactions with the older, beloved cast. Looking forward to the next one.
September 3, 2021
Book 5 In the Anne of Green Gables series and I'm now half way through.
I didn't enjoy book 4 so much but this was a good come back. Anne is starting married life and there's some really cute characters coming into play.
This book is such a sign of the times it was written in as anything to do with Anne, Gilbert or pregnancy is not mentioned at all, babies just appear without any reference.
A sure sign of the conservative era, however the author does mention in this book that the liberals had won the latest election so let's see if this changes the authors writing style at all in book 6.
I didn't enjoy book 4 so much but this was a good come back. Anne is starting married life and there's some really cute characters coming into play.
This book is such a sign of the times it was written in as anything to do with Anne, Gilbert or pregnancy is not mentioned at all, babies just appear without any reference.
A sure sign of the conservative era, however the author does mention in this book that the liberals had won the latest election so let's see if this changes the authors writing style at all in book 6.
November 27, 2023
April 2022: Wow, this is one my favorite hooks of all time. It hit differently this time. :') I really love Gilbert more than I've appreciated him before.... (update November 2022 - I didn't mention why it struck differently ... “I saved his life, and when you've saved a creature's life you're bound to love it. It's next thing to giving life.” - Gilbert Blythe
Also I read this at the exact same time last year lol
April 2021 - I love these books so much.
Also I read this at the exact same time last year lol
April 2021 - I love these books so much.
November 22, 2017
2.5 stars
Really didn't like the setting, every page seemed to have some long, detailed description of Anne's House or the area surrounding it and it was plain boring. I did enjoy some of the new characters though, Cornelia, Owen, and Captain Jim were all great. The parts that were most interesting though were the ones which mentioned Green Gables or had old characters from Green Gables pop up. Anne/Gilbert's relationship was rather weird, after four books of waiting for them to properly get together they hardly interacted with each other, and when they did they didn't seem like a young, married couple in love, especially from Anne's side. Anne just seemed weirdly obsessed with her neighbour and how beautiful and amazing she was, at points it was like she was more in love with her female neighbour than with Gilbert. It was all quite strange.
Really didn't like the setting, every page seemed to have some long, detailed description of Anne's House or the area surrounding it and it was plain boring. I did enjoy some of the new characters though, Cornelia, Owen, and Captain Jim were all great. The parts that were most interesting though were the ones which mentioned Green Gables or had old characters from Green Gables pop up. Anne/Gilbert's relationship was rather weird, after four books of waiting for them to properly get together they hardly interacted with each other, and when they did they didn't seem like a young, married couple in love, especially from Anne's side. Anne just seemed weirdly obsessed with her neighbour and how beautiful and amazing she was, at points it was like she was more in love with her female neighbour than with Gilbert. It was all quite strange.
October 8, 2020
Mais uma mão cheia de personagens fabulosos!
Só tenho pena que o Gilbert não tenha um papel mais relevante...
Another handful of wonderful characters!
I just regret that Gilbert doesn't have a more relevant role...
Só tenho pena que o Gilbert não tenha um papel mais relevante...
Another handful of wonderful characters!
I just regret that Gilbert doesn't have a more relevant role...
September 23, 2017
ANNE AND GILBERT SITTING IN A TREE. K-I-S-S—OH WAIT THERE'S BARELY ANY KISSING IN THIS ONE EITHER.
Yes, if you read between the lines (and "decode" the stork metaphor), then you know that there's a lot more than kissing happening in their "house of dreams", but the on-page count is in the single digits. Saddest trombone noises.
1. I am very frustrated by my reaction to this book on this reread. It's for multiple reasons, but the gist of it is that it didn't tell the story I remembered it telling, and I was bored and annoyed by turns. This feels like a betrayal of the highest order, obviously, so the rest of my review will need many grains of salt to be palatable.
2. I had forgotten just how much of the book was wrapped up in Captain Jim and Miss Cornelia and Leslie. And as much as I enjoy those characters (less so their dialogue tics), I looked forward to Anne's House of Dreams as the story that would be most about Anne and Gilbert. And I don't feel like I ever really got very much to do with them.
There's a sensation in Montgomery's books of stepping back from her characters as they "grow up"; a feeling of giving them space and allowing them privacy. It starts with a small step back with Anne of Avonlea, and another with Anne of the Island—to me, it feels like Montgomery stepped too far back in House of Dreams, and left Anne a shadow creature in the book that could have used her presence most of all.
This is not to say that I disagree with that approach—just that it kept me from engaging with this novel the way I once was able to.
3. This was the first time I read this book as a "newlywed", which I only bring up because I remember all those shining moments of "newness" I experienced and was looking forward to seeing those moments captured between the Blythes. But other than one or two (the first time Gil introduces Anne as his wife! their first "quarrel"!), I felt like all the "good parts" were left to the imagination.
4. Most petty, dated complaint ever, but having "Anne" erased for "Mrs. Dr. Blythe" was...not fun for me.
5. I'm just going to swing for all the petty complaints while I'm at bat: I want the book where Anne keeps writing and doesn't give up everything to play homemaker to Gil. I know Anne wants a family and loves her family more than everything, but her story ultimately makes me sad in a way it didn't just a decade or two ago.
6. JESUS FUCK, GIL: The fact that Gil refuses to believe Anne and Miss Cornelia about the life Leslie would face if Dick "returned to his old self" until he's already told Leslie about the option to operate is just...kind of the biggest dick move. I mean, yes, I see absolutely where he's coming from medically, but he's not looking at the "bigger picture": i.e., Leslie is trapped in that marriage. This is Canada where divorce wasn't a thing. And to know that he values the "health" of Dick Moore so much that he is willing to risk the health and well-being of Leslie to achieve those ends is one of those plot points that blots out forever a portion of the love I felt for Gilbert Blythe.
And sure, it all turns out for the best. But Gil didn't know that would happen.. If that had truly been Dick and Dick returned to being a dick, then what? Do you think he'd have stepped in and "saved" Leslie from the tyranny of her husband? Somehow, I think not.
And that's an unforgivable sin in my book.
7. All my bitter complaining aside, this book is still melded into my DNA. It's rather like hating your nose: you may look at it and seethe but ultimately the only people who can say bad things about it are you and your plastic surgeon.
Yes, if you read between the lines (and "decode" the stork metaphor), then you know that there's a lot more than kissing happening in their "house of dreams", but the on-page count is in the single digits. Saddest trombone noises.
1. I am very frustrated by my reaction to this book on this reread. It's for multiple reasons, but the gist of it is that it didn't tell the story I remembered it telling, and I was bored and annoyed by turns. This feels like a betrayal of the highest order, obviously, so the rest of my review will need many grains of salt to be palatable.
2. I had forgotten just how much of the book was wrapped up in Captain Jim and Miss Cornelia and Leslie. And as much as I enjoy those characters (less so their dialogue tics), I looked forward to Anne's House of Dreams as the story that would be most about Anne and Gilbert. And I don't feel like I ever really got very much to do with them.
There's a sensation in Montgomery's books of stepping back from her characters as they "grow up"; a feeling of giving them space and allowing them privacy. It starts with a small step back with Anne of Avonlea, and another with Anne of the Island—to me, it feels like Montgomery stepped too far back in House of Dreams, and left Anne a shadow creature in the book that could have used her presence most of all.
This is not to say that I disagree with that approach—just that it kept me from engaging with this novel the way I once was able to.
3. This was the first time I read this book as a "newlywed", which I only bring up because I remember all those shining moments of "newness" I experienced and was looking forward to seeing those moments captured between the Blythes. But other than one or two (the first time Gil introduces Anne as his wife! their first "quarrel"!), I felt like all the "good parts" were left to the imagination.
4. Most petty, dated complaint ever, but having "Anne" erased for "Mrs. Dr. Blythe" was...not fun for me.
5. I'm just going to swing for all the petty complaints while I'm at bat: I want the book where Anne keeps writing and doesn't give up everything to play homemaker to Gil. I know Anne wants a family and loves her family more than everything, but her story ultimately makes me sad in a way it didn't just a decade or two ago.
6. JESUS FUCK, GIL: The fact that Gil refuses to believe Anne and Miss Cornelia about the life Leslie would face if Dick "returned to his old self" until he's already told Leslie about the option to operate is just...kind of the biggest dick move. I mean, yes, I see absolutely where he's coming from medically, but he's not looking at the "bigger picture": i.e., Leslie is trapped in that marriage. This is Canada where divorce wasn't a thing. And to know that he values the "health" of Dick Moore so much that he is willing to risk the health and well-being of Leslie to achieve those ends is one of those plot points that blots out forever a portion of the love I felt for Gilbert Blythe.
And sure, it all turns out for the best. But Gil didn't know that would happen.. If that had truly been Dick and Dick returned to being a dick, then what? Do you think he'd have stepped in and "saved" Leslie from the tyranny of her husband? Somehow, I think not.
And that's an unforgivable sin in my book.
7. All my bitter complaining aside, this book is still melded into my DNA. It's rather like hating your nose: you may look at it and seethe but ultimately the only people who can say bad things about it are you and your plastic surgeon.
April 27, 2023
Every time I reread this, it captures a piece of my heart. 🥲
This is one of my favourite books in the series! Anne and Gilbert are pretty cute together as newlyweds, and the Four Winds cast is fantastic! Miss Cornelia always makes me laugh; Leslie Moore’s story was quite the twist; and of course, Captain Jim…my favourite sea captain who I absolutely fell in love with and who inspired a character of my own. Part of me is sad to leave Avonlea behind, but this book still brings all the beauty and charm Montgomery is loved for!
This is one of my favourite books in the series! Anne and Gilbert are pretty cute together as newlyweds, and the Four Winds cast is fantastic! Miss Cornelia always makes me laugh; Leslie Moore’s story was quite the twist; and of course, Captain Jim…my favourite sea captain who I absolutely fell in love with and who inspired a character of my own. Part of me is sad to leave Avonlea behind, but this book still brings all the beauty and charm Montgomery is loved for!
August 14, 2022
تا چند صفحهٔ اول فکر نمیکردم این جلد رو اینقدر دوست داشته باشم.
چقدر خوب بود آخه!
توی جلدهای قبل تعداد شخصیتها زیاد بود و ماجراهاشون کم؛ ولی توی این کتاب برعکس بود. پرداختن بیشتر به شخصیتها باعث شد که همهشون رو عمیقاً دوست داشته باشم و بهشون دل ببندم.
دربارهٔ پایانش چیزی نمیگم تا داستان لو نره، فقط اینکه من ترجیح میدادم جور دیگهای باشه. (اهمیتی هم نداره.)
چقدر خوب بود آخه!
توی جلدهای قبل تعداد شخصیتها زیاد بود و ماجراهاشون کم؛ ولی توی این کتاب برعکس بود. پرداختن بیشتر به شخصیتها باعث شد که همهشون رو عمیقاً دوست داشته باشم و بهشون دل ببندم.
دربارهٔ پایانش چیزی نمیگم تا داستان لو نره، فقط اینکه من ترجیح میدادم جور دیگهای باشه. (اهمیتی هم نداره.)
September 27, 2020
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING
May 22, 2020
This was another lovely installment from the Anne of Green Gables series. Although, this one is not my favourite of the five that I've read so far, it is still worthy of a read. I thought this one read more like a diary, and the plot was lacking in parts. There were a couple of abrupt time jumps, which didn't help the flow of the story, and also, I thought the general theme felt a tad samey. Personally, I prefer the young, care-free Anne, instead of the housewife Anne, in the kitchen cooking dinner. Despite my slight negativity here, I do love the feeling of calm I experience when reading this particular series, and I will definitely be finishing the series in the near future.
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