Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement

Lorraine Douglas is youth services co-ordinator at the Winnipeg Public
Library.

Editor Rea Wilmhurst found a cache of scrapbooks at Montgomery’s
birthplace and this is the fifth volume of rediscovered tales, a
companion to Akin to Anne (1988), Along the Shore (1989), Among the
Shadows (1990), and After Many Days (1991). Wilmhurst gives an overview
of the tales in an introduction that also delineates the place of the
stories in Montgomery’s writing life. The 18 stories are set in a
variety of locales in Canada, and are thematically linked as the
protagonist overcomes an obstacle to achieve success, happiness, or
self-respect. These are not unrealistic Horatio Alger success stories,
but tales of ordinary people who conquer a difficulty in their lives.

Although the stories are recommended by the publisher for “all
ages,” they are most suitable for ardent adult fans of Montgomery. The
language of the stories reflects the attitudes and vocabulary of the
times in which they were written. In “The Genesis of the Doughnut
Club,” 45-year-old Aunt Patty goes to work for a relative and gets
“a squaw in to wash and scrub.” Later she achieves success by making
some “tasty victuals” for a group of townsmen that becomes the
“Doughnut Club.” In stories like “The Fillmore Elderberries,” in
which Ellis keeps his word to clear the land, or “A Substitute
Journalist,” in which a woman takes a man’s place, the protagonists
have a single-minded determination to succeed. These and other
characters are interesting and appealing, and often the stories are
quite humorous. Each story is accompanied by a small, uninspiring
black-and-white period reproduction. Recommended with reservations.