If you like Montgomery's style, flowery phrases, stubborn spinsters, romantic tomfooleries, surprisingly down to earth observations, and PEI atmosphere that makes it seem the Brigadoon of Canada - you'll like these stories. If you don't and can't understand why anyone would read her, you won't. Some of these stories stink of sentiment and mothballs and others make you wish you could move to a village hamlet and blink your starry eyes at some dark-haired gent who will stick to your side forever while you make daisy chains and go home to a good pot of tea, jam and scones.

I'm currently in the middle of rereading every Montgomery-piece I can get my hands on. And I'm equally surprised by the sheer volume of her writing and how impossible it is to get my hands on.

In her lifetime, Montgomery wrote more than 500 short stories. Many have been forgotten, almost all are now out of print and are mainly considered footnotes to her legacy.

But a part of me thinks that's wrong. While arguably not her most impressive work, the short stories are where it all began. Much like her heroine Emily, Montgomery celebrated and triumphed every time a story was accepted by a newspaper or household magazine. It was her first taste of success, her first glimpse of her own name in print. And it enabled her to go on and write about Anne, Emily, Pat and Marigold.

This particular collection is not necessarily awe-inspiring, but it offers a fascinating glimpse into her writing process. With stories dating back as far as 1899 you really get a sense of the young Montgomery's writing.

And there's familiarity too; characters named Emily or Jim, stern aunts, lonesome children and of course, the beautiful Canadian landscape that runs through all of Montgomery's work. The stories are overly sentimental, flawed and predictable, but they're a joy to read all the same. And I cannot wait to dive deeper, to read more and gain a better understanding of the author who created so many of our favourite characters.

Next up: Akin to Anne. I'm just waiting for the mail to arrive ...

Finished all of her novels. Had read some of her short stories b4. Loved these esp Garden of Spices

The short stories (mostly romantic) in this anthology were incredibly sweet with lots of surprises.

Love love all Montgomerys writing !! Her style was beautiful and unique!

Short stories. As usual with Montgomery’s short stories, some I loved, some I couldn’t stand. [June 2008]

A short histories about love, with a happy ending.

I very much enjoyed this collection of short stories, there are some real gems in there! The ones that stood out to me are “The Girl and the Wild Race”, “By Grace of Julius Caesar”, “Akin to Love”, “The Garden of Spices”, and “The Bride is Waiting”.

I liked that they were in chronological order by the date they were written, you could see how much L.M. Montgomery’s writing improved and changed over the years.

Anne of Green Gables it ain't.

ESTE LIBRO ES UNO DE MI FAVORITOS

I really appreciate the abundance of new words I learn in L.M. Montgomery stories. This was another home run short story collection. Lucy Maud was a genius.

This was a collection of short very sentimental pieces. What L. M. Montgomery does best is write stories with often funny local gossip included in them, and with funny minor characters for comic relief. Unfortunately the short story format doesn't have the space for all the comic scenes. The point of many of the stories was that women should get married even if they don't want to or don't want to be married to the man in question, because that is their lot in life. Too much pious sentimentality.