{"id":5353,"date":"2006-09-22T08:28:43","date_gmt":"2006-09-22T12:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=5353"},"modified":"2024-10-27T11:37:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-27T15:37:29","slug":"the-books-further-chronicles-of-avonlea-aunt-cynthias-persian-cat-l-m-montgomery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=5353","title":{"rendered":"The Books: Further Chronicles of Avonlea<\/i>: \u2018Aunt Cynthia\u2019s Persian Cat\u2019 (L.M. Montgomery)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daily Book Excerpt: YA\/Children’s books:<\/p>\n

\"51QSH0XX72L._AA240_.jpg\"Further Chronicles of Avonlea<\/a>\"\"<\/i> by L.M. Montgomery. Another short story collection! We’re gonna be doing LM for the next couple of months. Oh, I’m so happy!!<\/p>\n

First story in this collection is a very funny little domestic drama – the kind of which Lucy Maud was just a MASTER of. There’s also a sprinkling of romance – but the COMEDY is what is paramount here. I love her sense of humor. I just get it, I respond to it.<\/p>\n

So anyway, first story is called “Aunt Cynthia’s Persian Cat”.<\/p>\n

The elements in the story:<\/p>\n

— Sue and Ismay are sisters – they are adults, neither married, and are living in the old family house<\/p>\n

— They have a fussy old Aunt Cynthia – of whom they both live in a kind of mild state of fear.<\/p>\n

— Sue has a “friend” named Max – who has asked her to marry him once a year for the past 10 years or whatever. They are best friends – but Sue is just convinced that he is not the man for her, even though she adores him, and loves having him around. (A recurring Lucy Maud theme.) Oh – and funny thing … Anne Shirley (excerpt here<\/a>) shows up in a peripheral way here. There’s a rumor that maybe Max wants to court Anne Shirley – and even though Sue doesn’t want to marry Max, she … well … she certainly doesn’t want him courting anyone else!!<\/p>\n

— Aunt Cynthia descends upon Sue and Ismay one weekend and she’s going out of town or something and she wants them to take care of Fatima – her white Persian cat – a cat that Sue and Ismay both despise. But because they live in fear of Aunt Cynthia, they say “sure, we’ll take care of Fatima”<\/p>\n

— Of course – Fatima is lost during her stay with Sue and Ismay. UTTER PANIC ENSUES. It’s hysterical – literally, Sue and Ismay are beside themselves. Max gets involved in the drama – mainly because he is such a good “friend” of Sue (you just love Max – he’s a very humorous character, the kind of guy I think I would like)<\/p>\n

Anyway, it all turns out all right in the end.<\/p>\n

But here’s an excerpt that gives the flavor of why I love this little story. Lucy Maud, when she’s “on”, is such a great example of how to keep it simple. She was SO good at that. Her short stories have nothing extraneous – and yet you still get the sense that they are chock-full of reality, and … you always feel like you are peeking through someone’s window – getting a glimpse of a full life lived. She’s marvelous.<\/p>\n

Here’s the excerpt.<\/p>\n


\nExcerpt from Further Chronicles of Avonlea<\/a>\"\"<\/i> – “Aunt Cynthia’s Persian Cat”. by L.M. Montgomery. <\/b><\/p>\n

“You can take care of that horrid Fatima beast yourself,” said Ismay, when the door closed behind Aunt Cynthia. “I won’t touch her with a yardstick. You had no business to say we’d take her.”<\/p>\n

“Did I say we would take her?” I demanded, crossly. “Aunt Cynthia took our consent for granted. And you know, as well as I do, we couldn’t have refused. So what is the use of being grouchy?”<\/p>\n

“If anything happens to her, Aunt Cynthia will hold us responsible,” said Ismay darkly.<\/p>\n

“Do you think Anne Shirley is really engaged to Gilbert Blythe?” I asked curiously.<\/p>\n

“I’ve heard that she was,” said Ismay absently. “Does she eat anything but milk? Will it do to give her milk?”<\/p>\n

“Oh, I guess so. But do you think Max has really fallen in love with her?”<\/p>\n

“I dare say. What a relief it will be for you if he has.”<\/p>\n

“Oh, of course,” I said, frostily. “Anne Shirley or Anne Anybody Else, is perfectly welcome to Max if she wants him. I<\/i> certainly do not. Ismay Meade, if that stove doesn’t stop smoking I shall fly into bits. This is a detestable day. I hate that creature!”<\/p>\n

“Oh, you shouldn’t talk like that, when you don’t even know her,” protested Ismay. “Every one says Anne Shirley is lovely –”<\/p>\n

“I was talking about Fatima,” I cried in a rage.<\/p>\n

“Oh!” said Ismay.<\/p>\n

Ismay is stupid at times. I thought the way she said “Oh” was inexcusably stupid.<\/p>\n