The Enid Blyton Society

Ming wrote: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!

Well, there's a Japanese animated series of Heidi, like so many others (Sindbad, Bee Maja, Captain Future, Pinocchio, St Clares, Nils Holgerson), and it's quite frequently shown on the German public children's channel Kika. How to pronounce Rottenmeier, the English "o" sound a bit different than the German "o", the same goes with the "e", but rotten is quite a good approximation to it. for the "meier", use the English "hire" and replace the "h" with "m", and you have your "Rottenmeier"

Ah! Anne of Green Gables! I read the book when I was 13, when I finished it, I turned to the front and read it again! It was a very old copy of my mother's, with the most beautiful illustrations. The artist's name escapes me!

I remembering listening to Anne of Green Gables on an Audio book once.

It was quite good but I thought it had a rather funny ending...
What does anyone else think about the ending whose read the book?

Well, if you haven't read the book Poppy, you should try to, because it is much better than the audio version. The ending leaves the reader wanting more, but there are several follow-up books. The ending of "Anne of Green Gables" ends with the words, "God's in His Heaven, all's right with the world," whispered Anne softly.

Could there be a better ending than that? And after all.."There was still the bend in the road," a reference, I'm sure, to Gilbert!
Good luck Poppy, do try to find a copy of this beautiful book.

And if possible the other seven in that series. They are beautiful books and a series I re-read fairly often.

Poppy Hutchinson wrote:It was quite good but I thought it had a rather funny ending...
What does anyone else think about the ending whose read the book?

A lot happens in the last few chapters of the book, but the ending is essentially happy - there's some sad reflection, but it's all about optimism and hope for the future. I'm a sucker for happy endings, and L.M. Montgomery provides them in spades!!

All the 'Anne' books are well worth reading IMO. They are thoroughly enjoyable. L.M. Montomery had an amazing talent for creating individuals and societies that very quickly become comfortable and familiar to her readers (probably thanks to all the gossip!!..)

She also had a great skill for painting settings, landscapes, surroundings and nature-y things. As the main character, Anne, loves the natural world, we're continually getting little descriptions of horizons or sunsets or wintry scenes, and I personally find that they enrich the books no end.

I'd be interested to know why you find the ending 'funny'? The audio book may have a different or more abrupt ending than the printed book perhaps.

Did anyone see the made-for-TV film of Anne of Green Gables on ITV3 the other day? I enjoyed it as Ella Ballentine made a convincing Anne Shirley and I felt the film captured the charm of the book - though one or two things were missed out.

Daisy wrote: ↑15 Sep 2007, 10:54 There are 8 books in the set Anita. You may also find a couple of short story compilations where Anne figures in one or two.

I came across Chronicles of Avonlea today in the Oxfam bookshop, priced £2.99 for a 1974 hardback edition with a dustwrapper showing Kim Braden as Anne from the 1972 TV adaptation, so I bought it. Six of the full-length "Anne" books are listed on the back cover, together with another short story collection - Further Chronicles of Avonlea.

As I've posted before, books by L.M. Montgomery are high on my re-read list. Topping the list by far is The Blue Castle, but Anne and Emily are up there too. I haven't re-read the short stories as much though I've enjoyed 'Chronicles' and 'Further Chronicles'. The publication of the latter infuriated LM. She'd broken with the publisher and they re-cycled some stories which they had initially rejected. When I first read a couple of them I remember thinking that I'd read their plot elements incorporated into a couple of the novels. LM wrote to a friend advising him not to read it, but I believe the book got good reviews anyway.
I have some beautiful old editions (not firsts) which are a joy to have and to hold, even before reading.

It's interesting to hear the history of Further Chronicles, Judith.

My "Anne" books are mainly Puffin paperbacks dating from the early 1980s (except for the last two, which are Bantam paperbacks which I didn't discover until much later) and I have happy memories of reading them sitting in a deckchair in the garden on hot summer days, a jug of orange squash to hand (loaded with ice cubes).

I didn't know they had made a version in 2016. I'll keep an eye out for the DVD.

"The Story Girl" was a fabulous TV series, at least in its early days. (It went on for years, till Sarah was grown up, but only the first two or three series were based on the books. I didn't see the later episodes). Marilla Cuthbert made an appearance or two - the same actress that played her in the Megan Follows version - I think Rachel Lynde appeared too. Sarah Polley played the character Sarah.

I think the TV series was called Road to Avonlea, but the first book was called The Story Girl.

Thanks for the tip, dsr. I've reserved a copy of the first series of 'Road to Avonlea' to collect from my local library, but I will have to wait awhile as there is only one copy in the whole state. I'm generally a bit disappointed with film versions of a lot of my favourite authors, but occasionally I am very impressed. Top of my tree is a TV version of Henry James 'The Golden Bowl'.

I still have my name down for 'The Road to Avonlea' but by chance at my local library I came across a DVD set including the BBC 1975 version of 'Anne of Avonlea'. It has delighted me for the last three evenings and there are more episodes to watch. I immediately googled the 1972 BBC version of 'Anne of Green Gables' and was sorely disappointed to find that it was a victim of the ill-considered decision to erase 'non-commercial' series and no copies are known to have survived. Apparently early Dr. Who suffered the same fate.
However I recommend 'Anne of Avonlea' to all who appreciate authentic screen recreations of favourite novels. The spirit of the original is preserved even when the exigencies of film prevent a totally faithful rendition. I consider that the 1970s was probably the last decade when the genius of the writers of the great novels was respected and film makers did not yet believe that they could 'improve' on the original texts by exaggeration, padding, and modernizing the attitudes and behaviour of characters to make them more acceptable to modern audiences. They are not entirely to blame as, by and large, audiences of today are less likely to have read the originals and so have never had the opportunity to develop a sense of history. 'The Golden Bowl' of 1972 I consider not just the best Henry James but the best literary mini series I have ever watched. (Co-incidentally Kathleen Byron who stars as Fanny Assingham in 'The Golden Bowl' is Miss Lavendar in 'Anne of Avonlea'.) In the same DVD pack I borrowed is the 1980 'Pride and Prejudice' starring Elizabeth Garvie (still my preferred screen version), and of course the 1975 version of Mrs. Gaskell's 'North and South' is consistently good, unlike the 21st century version which has some appalling lapses.
Anyway, what I am really saying is that if you love 'Anne of Avonlea' and 'Anne of the Island' this BBC version is a treat in store for you.

I've enjoyed several TV versions of Anne of Green Gables but haven't seen the 1972 adaptation of The Golden Bowl by Henry James. Growing up, I remember being particularly impressed by the TV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited (1981), which stayed very close indeed to Evelyn Waugh's book. I also liked the TV serials of several of R. F. Delderfield's books (To Serve Them All My Days, Diana, etc.)

Our tastes seem very similar, Anita. The 1981 'Brideshead Revisited' is one of my favourite series, making good use of Waugh's text which in parts gives me the kind of shiver great writing always does. Delderfield I haven't read but recall a couple of mini-series with affection.