The Enid Blyton Society

Thanks, Daisy. I've read the first six titles at least three times since I bought them at the age of thirteen, but Anne of Green Gables is the one I really love. I feel sorry when we lose Matthew Cuthbert so early on - I'd like to have seen more of him.

Anita

I always wondered if she didn't intend the book to be a stand alone, which would explain why she killed off one of the most interesting characters towards the end of it.

Heidi was the first non-blyton book I read. It was also my favorite classic till I discovered the Anne books. Though I loved Heidi at first, now, when I reread it, I find it a bit monotonous. My uncle gave me a copy of Anne of Green Gables when I was 11. It was not exactly love at first sight as I didn't like the book so much when I first read it. About an year later, a friend of mine made me reread it and then, I found it absolutely delightful ! I also managed to cajole my mum into buying me the rest of the series and the Emily books. I loved the first 6 books featuring Anne as the principle character. But, I found the 7th and 8th featuring her children a bit boring but nonetheless enjoyable. I'm now half way through Emily of New Moon which is as good as the Anne books. But, it does bear many striking resemblances to Anne of Green Gables.

Moose wrote:I always wondered if she didn't intend the book to be a stand alone, which would explain why she killed off one of the most interesting characters towards the end of it.

I've wondered the same thing too. Anne of Green Gables covers a large part of her life whereas the other books cover small parts of her life.

Anita Bensoussane wrote:
I only had six titles until last week, when I came across numbers 7 and 8 in a charity shop. Do the eight books constitute a complete set, or are there any more?

Anita

Anita,I know you posted it about one and a half years ago, but, what did you think of Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside?

I don't think I ever read Heidi (just saw the movie with Shirley Temple) but loved the Anne books. I actually know someone whose mother lived on Prince Edward Island. Apparently it is hugely popular with Japanese tourists, I think because of the Anne series. They call her Anne of the Red Hair. Would love to visit the island one day (ie, if I ever go to Canada which I would really like to do).

My daughter also loves the series but I can't persuade her to read the books ("Why would you read something when you can watch it, Mum?"). They also show it to the residents in my nana's nursing home and the residents seem to like it. I guess it reminds them of when they were young or maybe they remember reading the books.

hope189 wrote:Anita,I know you posted it about one and a half years ago, but, what did you think of Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside?

Wish I could answer but I haven't actually read them yet. I'm currently reading another book which I also bought about 18 months ago - The House Called Hadlows by Victoria Walker. So many books and so little time!

Anita

I am interested in Hope's comment about the last 2 books of the Anne series as I felt just the same when I first read them - I wanted to hear more of Anne - but as time has gone by and I have read them all many times the last 2 books are really treasures in their own right and I now enjoy them as much as the others. Anita, I would suggest you re-read Anne of Ingleside before you embark on Rainbow Valley as it will refresh your memory of the children and help the link with their older selves. As an adult I think you will enjoy them very much.
I am enjoying reading some of Montgomery's other books at the moment. I have all 3 Emilys and also the Story Girl and Golden Road and just now I'm reading Mistress Pat, the sequel to Pat of Silver Bush.

I read Rilla of Ingleside but many, many years ago. All I remember is that Rilla is Anne's ?youngest? daughter and she is quite a lively character with dark curly hair (is that right?).

Daisy wrote: Anita, I would suggest you re-read Anne of Ingleside before you embark on Rainbow Valley as it will refresh your memory of the children and help the link with their older selves. As an adult I think you will enjoy them very much.

Thanks Daisy, that certainly makes sense. Last time I started re-reading the series I got as far as Anne's House of Dreams and then got distracted by other things and didn't read any further. So next time I read the "Anne" books I intend to start from where I left off.

Anita

auscatherine wrote:I read Rilla of Ingleside but many, many years ago. All I remember is that Rilla is Anne's ?youngest? daughter and she is quite a lively character with dark curly hair (is that right?).

You are right, Rilla is Anne's youngest of Anne's children. She is a lively young girl but the war turns her into a more mature young woman. Rilla of Ingleside is perhaps the saddest book in the series due to the war and the deaths. My eyes still start to fill (Call me sentimental if you want to) when I read the part where Walter dies.

Heidi ... When I was five years old I watched a Heidi-Movie - it was an Austrian movie produced in the Sixties I can remember. I remember me crying in the course of the movie - it was so sad to see Heidi and her grandfather suffering! Sure, I was reading "Heidi" and I really love the story. I think every girl in Germany was growing up with "Heidi" at this time. Nowadays, the kids know "Heidi" only from television. Well, I have to admit that I bought the "Anne-books" as an adult - after watching the movie "Anne of Green Gables" with Megan Follows. I have not known L.M. Montgomery before - but now I enjoyed her writing style. Unfortunately, I have to say I do abolutely not like "Rilla of Ingleside" - too patriotic. I remember one scene: A little boy killing his little tom-cat (I love cats because I am owned by a cat) to make it possible that his friend would survive - no, no, no !!! But I like the housemaid Susan - and her funny sarcastical remarks about Wilhelm II. She was absolutely right!

I loved the book Heidi, at some points it even makes me cry. I used to watch Heidi ages ago on television - it was a weekly serial I think. I adored it. It was in English, but in Singapore it was in Japanese - anyone knows which one I mean? For me that was the ultimate Heidi adaptation, if only I could find it again.

The Heidi TV series I recall from childhood is the following one, Ming, which was dubbed into English from (I think) German:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heidi-1-DVD-Kat ... B0002SCZVW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know whether it's the one you're thinking of.

I've always loved the book. It was one of the first full-length books I read, at the age of five, though I hadn't a clue how to pronounce most of the names.

Anita

Thanks for the link Anita. It wasn't the one, the one I saw was an animated series.

I know what you mean about the names - how on earth do you pronounce "Rottenmeier"? I don't even know the spelling!

Ming wrote:I know what you mean about the names - how on earth do you pronounce "Rottenmeier"? I don't even know the spelling!

It's Rot-en-my-er, or as near as makes no difference.

And, yes, I love Heidi, too. I really like Switzerland as a country, and Spyri manages to completely draw you into the Alpine scenery. When I was younger, it nwould have been my dream to have lived in a little hut in the Swiss Alps, but I mighgt find it a bit lonely these days.

Thanks for the link. Yes, I know this Heidi-movie, I used to watch it every Saturday afternoon when I was eleven. It was very interesting because each sequel state an "actual event/fact?", for example Robert Koch (Nobelpreis) has been mentioned, the cook was afraid of the "devil-thing automobil", Klara was reading "Little Lord Fauntleroy", the grand-mother reavealed her disdain of the German emperor ...

It was also shown the so-called "Landflucht" which means poor people of the Switzer village "Doerfli" has to move to the city in order to earn more money (maybe working in a factory) - that was their last opporunity. A very "true" movie!