Montgomery's novels and short stories circles around the topic of orphans and the possibility of a home. Through her characters, she's constantly questioning what a home is and what it means to be at home; to feel kinship with strangers and to choose your own family.

This short story collection is no exception. In fact, it's populated by orphans, asking questions and searching for a place to belong.

The stories themselves aren't necessarily masterpieces but they offer key insight into Montgomery's most famous works and paved the way for Anne, Emily and Jane. While the structure of the stories seem a bit repetitive when read in one go, they're quite whimsical and wonderful when read over a longer stretch of time, allowing you to tell the characters apart.

I'd actually give this closer to 3.75 stars. Mostly because I read this as an adult and I think if I'd read it as a child (as is intended) I would have found the stories more charming and less repetitive.

Akin to Anne is a collection of tales about orphans that were published in various magazines and journals and collected in this book after L.M. Montgomery's death. Although they lack the wit and originality of Montgomery's full-length novels when read together, there are several gems within this book that make up for the slower or poorly-ended tales that are also included.

Unfortunately for the adult reader who may love re-reading Anne's own adventures, the plot of nearly every story in Akin to Anne can be summed up thusly: Poor, orphaned child/young adult meets someone who vaguely recognizes them (or is reminded of a dead relative) as the story progresses either the orphan turns out to be a relation of the (always nice and well-off) friend or is a relation of someone known to the friend (who is also nice and well-off). This repetition was unfortunate and could probably be made less so by reading one or two stories at a time, maybe once a month. I don't recommend reading the tales all at once.

The story that I found the most enjoyable was actually one in which the orphan  is an elderly woman who lives in a charming cottage and longs for young people to keep her company. Two charming teens who discover her "adopt her" as a friend and enrich her life with friendship. Eventually they connive to have her own young relations visit, despite the relations being two snobbish women. The snobs discover that their "aunt" is wonderful and they become better people through knowing her.  

I would generally recommend this to die-hard Anne Shirley fans as well as young girls who enjoy reading about Victorian-early 20th century life and reading stories with a moral at the end.

3 stars
Most of these stories can be found on Project Gutenberg under the name "Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories"where they are sorted by year.
1. Charlotte's Quest (1933)- good
2. Marcella's Reward (1907)- very good
3. An Invitation Given on Impulse (1900)- ok
4. Freda's Adopted Grave (1905)- ok
5. Ted's Afternoon Off (1907)- ok
6. The Girl Who Drove the Cows (1908)- good
7. Why Not Ask Miss Price? (1904)- ok
8.Jane Lavinia (1906)- ok
9. The Running Away of Chester (1903)- very good
10. Milicent's Double (1905)- ok
11. Penelope's Party Waist (1904)- good
12. The Little Black Doll (1909)- very good
13. The Fraser Scholarship (1905)- ok
14. Her Own People (1905)- good
15. Miss Sally's Company (1904)- loved
16. The Story of an Invitation (1901)- very good
17. The Softening of Miss Cynthia (1904)- loved
18. Margaret's Patient (1908)- good
19. Charlie's Ladies (1911)- loved

2.5 ⭐️
Each of the stories on their own was charming enough, some more than others, but the suspension of reality needed to enjoy all of them in one place was a bit too tall of an order.

Very Victorian stories as orphans are reunited with family. Good always wins

3.8

3,5 ✨

March 2025 reread:
I did not enjoy this one as much as a whole. While other themed collections have plenty of variation, this one does get repetitive. Almost every story features someone saying "So and so reminds me of someone" and then soon discovering an unknown relative. I do very much appreciate, however, how most of the stories involve an act of sacrifice that the characters make without knowing they will be blessed for it.

The first and last stories possess the most charm. I'm tempted to say LMM was at her best when writing from the perspective of children.
Still, for some reason I can't beat to knock off stars! Perhaps because the subject of orphans was so close to Montgomery's heart.

***
I love this collection! Even though each story's theme is basically the same: virtue rewarded and orphans meeting long-lost relatives or relative's friends by chance and being recognized by them as resembling family members.

But I don't find the stories repetitive. Each one has a unique set of characters, whose thoughts and dialogues are very enjoyable and even inspiring. There isn't one story I dislike, though some are more forgettable than others.

My favorites are...

Charlotte's Quest

Marcella's Reward

Jane Lavinia

The Little Black Doll (though poor Denise isn't mentioned again at the end)

Her Own People

Miss Sally's Company

Charlotte's Ladies (I love the 'gaps' in the asylum fence and Charlotte's personality)

In this delightful collection of short stories, you'll certainly find some treasures. This was my first time to read some of L.M. Montgomery's short stories, and I truly enjoyed them.

The particular selection in "Akin to Anne" is put together by Rea Wilmshurst. She located many of Montgomery's short tales that regard other orphans (just like our dear Anne Shirley), from newspaper and magazine publications. All were originally published between 1900 and 1933.

All the tales included in "Akin to Anne" make for some charming literature to read, that both young readers and adults can cherish alike. The girls and boys featured in these stories learn important life lessons or find the meaning of a true family, blood-related or not. When reading these stories, one after another, the plots do seem to mimic each other a bit, but there are surprises thrown in now and then. All in all, it's a charming set of short stories!

A glimpse at my three favorites...

Charlotte's Ladies: Little Charlotte is stuck in an orphan asylum. "No one will ever want to adopt me, because I've mousy hair and freckles." (Or, at least, she thinks so.) Her only consolation is that she just discovered some loose boards in the asylum's fence -- just big enough to look out through and see what is in the outside world. With new friendships and a Very Handsome Cat to keep her company sometimes, she inevitably becomes part of a new life on the other side of the fence.

Her Own People: Constance Foster is a quiet, young schoolteacher, alone in the world, with no family, friends, and not even any special plans for the summer holidays. A fellow teacher, Miss Channing, takes pity on the situation, and make her own suggestion. -- The reason I enjoyed this story is because of the emotional change that takes place in Miss Foster's heart. By the end of the tale, she has some beautiful words to share.

Freda's Adopted Grave: "It was one of the unwritten laws of the little community that on some selected day in May everybody would repair to the graveyard to plant, trim and clip." In the time leading up to Graveyard Day, all the girls chatter on about the types of flowers they get to use for their families' graves -- except for one girl, Freda, who is a bit sensitive on the subject, knowing that she doesn't have a grave to decorate. Her thoughtful personality shines forth, though, as she sets out to do a unique act of kindness.

It was cute but after a while it got very repetitive. Here’s the formula:
X has no family. *insert some strange happenstance* X meets Y who gives a little start upon seeing X. Y latter takes X aside and asks about X’s parents. X and Y learn they’re somehow related and X lives with Y happily ever after.

A happy, nostalgic read. The last story was my favorite of the second half of the book (Mom read the first half aloud to me while I was recovering from back surgery in 2017, bless).

When reading this collection of stories it is important to remember that they were never intended to be read together. They were all written for publication in magazines and newspapers, often months or years apart. Although I enjoyed reading 'Akin to Anne', I have to admit that perhaps grouping them together by theme might not have been the best idea. Reading the same plot over and over again can be tiresome, so I'm quite glad that I read a different story or two each day for a fortnight. There were some stories that, while being mildly enjoyable, I've probably already forgotten, and others that I thoroughly enjoyed and found very sweet. Below is a list of the stories included in this collection, arranged depending on how much I liked them. I do recommend this book to fans of L. M. Montgomery as each story features her lovely and memorable style of writing. But I'd suggest not to read more than two stories at a time as this can really spoil them. 7/10

Loved:
Charlotte's Quest
The Running Away of Charles
Penelope's Party Waist
Charlotte's Ladies

Enjoyed:
Freda's Adopted Grave
The Girl Who Drove the Cows
Jane Lavinia
Millicent's Double
The Little Black Doll
Her Own People

Average:
Marcella's Reward
An Invitation Given On Impulse
Ted's Afternoon Off
Why Not Ask Miss Price?
The Fraser Scholarship
The Story of an Invitation
The Softening of Miss Cynthia
Margaret's Patient