My favorite literary adaptations...

I mentioned all that was wrong with the unlikable The Scarlet Letter. So, as an antidote, here are some of my faves that I think to a great job of conveying the emotional truths of the books they represent. (Is that a nice way of saying not all of them to stick to the very letter of their source material, but they're such good movies, I don't care?)


•I've said before, Little Women was one of those books of my childhood I could never slog my way through. I always felt there was something wrong with me for just not getting this American classic. Then I saw this movie. Somehow it made the book come alive for me in the way my multiple attempts over the years at the first two or three chapters hadn't. I found out all the good stuff I was missing — and eagerly took up the book once more.


•I hold nothing against Keira Knightley's version, except, perhaps, that it tried to cram six hours' worth of story in a two hour movie. My favorite literary adaptations are often miniseries (like this BBC gem from back in the days when the A&E network aired programs that I actually watched) because they can take the time to flesh out important parts of a book that a feature film just can't take the time to. Besides, there may be nothing wrong with Matthew Macfadyen, but Colin Firth will always be "my" Mr. Darcy.


•I began watching these movies right around the same time as I was reading L.M. Montgomery's books for the first time, so they are irrevocably intertwined in my mind. Even when these films take liberties (and the second one does collapse several books into one story, combining characters and moving events around in time), they still get the emotional heart of the books absolutely right. This, unfortunately, cannot be said for the third segment of this so-called film "trilogy." I don't have the space here to describe how awful it was, but suffice it so say, I wondered why they bothered calling it "Anne of Green Gables" at all. (Actually, that isn't true, I know they did it because they knew loyal "Anne" fans like me would watch it — once, at least.)

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

And now for something completely different...

Well, actually this one kind of is. The Blue Castle is an L.M. Montgomery book, but one a lot different from her usual fare. For one, the heroine doesn't start out as a child. Valency is almost 30 - and, as her domineering family keeps reminding her, unmarried.

Then, her doctor tells her she has a year to live - at most. Suddenly, she has an excuse to throw off her drab, dreary existence and start to make every day count.

There's a fascinating, rakish man involved, of course - though he doesn't turn out to be nearly as wicked as he seems at first. Moving into the "Blue Castle" of her dreams, Valency learns to live the life she was meant to (and uncovers a secret or two along the way).

The ending is not going to shock any long-time L.M. Montgomery fans (I saw it coming a mile away), but this book is a testament to living "the road less traveled by". A great story.

More L.M. Montgomery

I had to get around to listing one of my favorite series of all-time sooner or later.

I have been a fan of the "Anne Girl" since a day when I was about 8 or 9. I caught my mom laughing uproariously over a book and it turned out she was reading Chapter II of Anne of Green Gables - the chapter that introduced the immortal Anne Shirley to the world. Well, knowing that something funny was on the way, I slogged through the very-boring first chapter of Green Gables (no modern editor would have let L.M. Montgomery get away with that) and entered the world of Anne.

Shortly thereafter I was introduced to the CBC/PBS miniseries starring Megan Follows. Between the movie (which ranks right up there with the BBC/A&E version of Pride and Prejudice as one of the best film adaptations ever) and, with the remaining seven "Anne" books, I was hooked for life.

Trust me, if I ever have a daughter someday, she's probably going to wind up being an "Ann with an e".

Countless rereads later, I can honestly say I still enjoy visiting Green Gables (and the House of Dreams and Ingleside). I get something different out of the hijinks of Anne, her best friend Diana and her sworn enemy/later beau Gilbert Blythe every time I read them. The later novels in the series aren't just the children's books they're often shelved as (Anne's House of Dreams and Rilla of Ingleside, especially).

One thing I always did wonder was why I found Book #4 Anne of Windy Poplars and Book #6 Anne of Ingleside too be rather flat compared to the others. I found the answer a few years ago reading a bibliography of L.M. Montgomery's work. Although Windy Poplars and Anne of Ingleside are chronologically Book #4 and Book #6, L.M. actually published those two last - at the insistence of her publisher and long after she'd run out of fresh ideas for Anne. They're actually comprised mainly of worked-over short stories from her early writing career (which goes a long ways towards explaining why the stories suddenly veer off in the direction of some very minor characters in spots.)

Ever since I've felt justified in recommending people read the "Anne" Books in their original order so they don't get bogged down by the weaker books:

Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island
Anne's House of Dreams
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of Ingleside
Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne of Ingleside

Reading them in this order also makes the final chapter of Anne of Ingleside that more poignant. You'll know what I mean when you get there.

My Girl Emily

Emily of New Moon
Emily Climbs
Emily's Quest - L.M. Montgomery



I just reread the Emily of New Moon trilogy by L.M. Montgomery, the author best known for the Anne of Green Gables series. As much as I've always loved the Anne books, I really remember identifying with Emily as a teenager. I can still remember bawling all the way through Emily's Quest the first time I read it at age 14 because I thought the romantic misunderstandings between Emily and Teddy were so true to life. With apologies to Emily's teacher, Mr. Carpenter, I had to use italics: the book spoke to me.

Now I find myself wondering what would have happened if she'd married Dean. He was one of the most interesting characters in the series. I had a much different impression of Emily and her younger friends this time around. She seemed much saucier than I remembered her. Anne was a dreamer who found herself in trouble with the adult world often enough, but Emily often gets into her trouble by making snarky comments and defying her relations. Her bohemian best friend, Ilse, is a far cry from sweet, Diana Barry.

Emily's childhood sweetheart (there always seems to be a childhood sweetheart in L.M. Montgomery books) was not exactly the true-hearted Gilbert Blythe either. (Gilbert may have escorted Christine Stuart around Redmond College events for a while, but he wasn't the biggest flirt on Prince Edward Island.)

Supposedly, the Emily books are the most autobiographical of all Montgomery's novels. I believe it. I've read her childhood journals and some of Emily's experiences are taken almost word-for-word from her own.

Perhaps you have to be going through teenage angst to fully appreciate this story, but I still enjoyed my reread. I'd recommend Emily to any young, aspiring writer. Emily's Quest has one of the best writer's encouragements I still have ever read. I have the last words of that wise educator, Mr. Carpenter hanging on my wall, within sight of my computer:

"No use trying to please everybody. No use trying to please critics. Live under your own hat. Don't be led away by those howls about realism. Remember - pine woods are just as real as pigsties and a darn sight pleasanter to be in. You'll get there sometime - you have the root of the matter in you. And don't tell the world everything. That's what's the matter with our literature. Lost the charm of mystery and reserve."