Details

Title

The Fragrance of Sweet-grass

Subtitle

L.M. Montgomery's heroines and the pursuit of romance

Statement of Responsibility

Elizabeth Rollins Epperly.

Alternative Title

L.M. Montgomery's Heroines and the Pursuit of Romance

Author

Epperly, Elizabeth R.

Physical Description

viii, 275 p. ; 24 cm.

Abstract

Anne of Green Gables may be the most famous Canadian literary character ever created. She has captured the imagination of young girls around the world, and her popularity shows no sign of diminishing. But Anne Shirley is only the best known of the memorable heroines created by Lucy Maud Montgomery, a group that includes Emily Byrd Starr, Valancy Stirling, and Pat Gardiner. These characters are at the centre of Elizabeth Rollins Epperly's book, the first full-length critical study of all L.M. Montgomery's fiction. Epperly argues that the strength of the novels lies in their descriptions of nature, the comic interplay of eccentrics and children, and above all the heroines. She points out that Montgomery was a master of the genre of romance, a skill she honed in hundreds of short stories aimed at a specific market. But her heroines reveal a much more complex relationship with the genre. Each one's struggle to establish individual identity is at odds with the conventions of romance. So is the powerful love of home that drives each of them. The expectations of romance readers are confounded, and yet, in the end, the happy endings fulfil the romance formula. Through her use of literary allusions, repetitions, irony, and comic inversions, Montgomery deftly works with and against the literary convention of which she is in total command. As Epperly demonstrates, Montgomery's place in the Canadian canon arises not simply from the affection in which the world holds Anne, but from her creator's mastery of her craft.

Place of Publication

Toronto

Country

Canada

Publisher

University of Toronto Press

Date of Publication

1992 Show more1992-01-01T00:00:00.000Z
1992-01-01T00:00:00.000Z Show less

Collection

Ryrie-Campbell copy signed by author.
L.M. Montgomery Institute. Ryrie-Campbell Collection.

Donor

Donated by Donna Jane Campbell.

Contents

Acknowledgments--Abbreviations--Introduction--Part I: Anne--Romancing the Voice: Anne of Green Gables--Romance Awry: Anne of Avonlea--Recognition: Anne of the Island--'This Enchanted Shore': Anne's House of Dreams--Heroism's Childhood: Rainbow Valley--Womanhood and War: Rilla of Ingleside--Recapturing the Anne World: Anne of Windy Poplars and Anne of Ingleside--Part II: Emily--The Struggle for Voice: Emily of New Moon--Testing the Voice: Emily Climbs--Love and Career: Emily's Quest--Part III: The Other Heroines--Romancing the Home: Pat of Silver Bush, Mistress Pat, Jane of Lantern Hill--A Changing Heroism: An Overview of the Other Novels--Epilogue--Notes--Works Cited--Index.

Topic

Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud)
Criticism and Interpretation

Genre

Reference

Call Number(s)

497 REF-Epperley

Bibliographic Information

Includes bibliographical references (p. [261]-266) and index.