At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales

Elizabeth St Jacques is the author of Echoes All Strung Out and
Survivors: The Great Depression, 1929-1939.

As a lifelong fan of Montgomery’s work, Wilmshurst was certain she was
familiar with everything the author had written. However, in 1977, when
visiting Montgomery’s birthplace, Wilmshurst came across a short story
she had never read before. To her astonishment, she learned there were
many more. What followed were years of detective work to find and
catalogue Montgomery’s little-known works and obtain permission to
reprint them. At the Altar, consisting of 18 stories on the theme of
marriage, is the sixth collection in this delightful series.

Considering that all but one of these stories were published between
1899 and 1935, it should come as no surprise that Victorian attitudes
prevail. However, Montgomery’s charming style and her impish humor,
characters, and situations make these stories timeless. Young readers
coming across such quaint terms as “snuggery” and “aigrette”
will undoubtedly reach for their dictionaries, but they may be surprised
to find reflections of present-day problems in some of these
heartwarming love stories.

Conclusions are positive, but true to the author’s style. As
Wilmshurst explains in the introduction, Montgomery preferred
“happy-ever-after” endings not only to mirror “the climate of the
times” but also to substantiate “her belief that she should portray
the pleasanter side of life.” Still, these stories, spiced with
comedy, complications, twists, and colorful characters (with equally
colorful names), and balanced with an assortment of docile and totally
independent women, are well crafted and anything but boring.

Long after her death, Lucy Maud Montgomery continues to entertain,
teach, and enchant young and old with her delightful, wonder-filled
stories. Highly recommended.