"Anne of Windy Poplars" by L.M. Montgomery

My L.M. Montgomery Readathon Facebook group will begin reading & discussing "Anne's House of Dreams" together, chapter by chapter, on Jan. 15th.  It's chronologically the fifth book in the Anne series;  we read #3,  "Anne of the Island," last year (reviewed here and here). Being a completist, though, I decided I needed to try to fit in #4 first -- "Anne of Windy Poplars"  (called "Anne of Windy Willows" in the U.K.).  

It's been many years since I last read "Anne of Windy Poplars." It was written in 1936, later in Montgomery's life, in response to readers' (and her publishers') demands for "more Anne," and bridges the three-years gap in Anne's story between her graduation from Redmond College ("Anne of the Island," 1915) and her marriage to Gilbert Blythe ("Anne's House of Dreams," 1917). While Gilbert attends medical school, Anne assumes the position of principal of the high school in Summerside, Prince Edward Island (which, unlike some of the locations in the Anne books, is a real town on PEI) and finds a new home as a boarder at Windy Poplars with "the widows," known as "Aunt Kate" and "Aunt Chatty," and their feisty housekeeper, Rebecca Dew.  She makes new friends -- and enemies (the entire Pringle clan) -- and describes her adventures in detailed letters to Gilbert. 

Many readers regard "Windy Poplars" as a lesser entry in the Anne series -- and some of the material in it is, admittedly, "filler," and derivative of character types and vignettes from previous Anne books. And yet, the characters are amusing and well drawn, and some of the episodes are truly funny (e.g., dinner at Tomgallon House with a hostess who regales Anne non-stop with lurid tales of her family curse and its victims). I particularly enjoyed the description of a cozy Green Gables Christmas (especially since I was reading this book during my own Christmas holidays!).  And I found myself misty-eyed at the end, as Anne says goodbye to Windy Poplars and this in-between time in her life, and receives a memorable send-off from Rebecca Dew.  

I'm glad I didn't skip this one.

4 stars. 

This was Book #48 read to date in 2023 (and Book #4 finished in December), bringing me to 107% of my 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books! :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2023 tagged as "2023 books."