At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales (1994)
By L.M. Montgomery
Edited by Rea Wilmshurst
Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1994
Synopsis
In these stories Montgomery’s characters find that on the way to the altar hindrances arise in the form of stern parents, awkward circumstances, misunderstandings (and one very determined cat). But the obstacles to the course of true love are removed by a wonderful assortment of means: Montgomery brings maiden aunts to the rescue; two pairs of twins play major roles; a marauding pig is an unusual cupid; the lovers themselves come up with striking solutions.
Whether you live on a farm and marry the boy (or girl) next door, whether you are rich or poor, whether you move to exotic climes or simply across the village, whether you are young and trembling and romantic or old and staid and prosaic, in Montgomery’s hands your happiness as a bride (or groom) seems assured.
At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales is the sixth volume of L.M. Montgomery’s rediscovered stories to be published by McClelland and Stewart. Akin to Anne, Along the Shore, Among the Shadows, After Many Days, and Against the Odds preceded this collection.
Contents
Introduction (vii-xvii)
Aunt Philippa and the Men (1-16)
A Dinner of Herbs (17-30)
Jessamine (31-39)
The Penningtons’ Girl (41-52)
The Gossip of Valley View (53-63)
The Pursuit of the Ideal (65-72)
By the Rule of Contrary (73-79)
Nan (81-90)
The Wooing of Bessy (91-103)
Miss Cordelia’s Accommodation (105-114)
The Twins and a Wedding (115-125)
Them Notorious Pigs (127-136)
The Dissipation of Miss Ponsonby (137-149)
An Unconventional Confidence (151-160)
The Way of the Winning of Anne (161-172)
The Touch of Fate (173-185)
What Aunt Marcella Would Have Called It (187-196)
When Jack and Jill Took a Hand (197-214)
Afterword: Finding L.M. Montgomery’s Short Stories (215-221)
Editorial Note (223-224)
Acknowledgements (225)
Other Books by L.M. Montgomery (227-228)
Reviews
Bryce, Sylvia. “The Subtle Subversions of L.M. Montgomery.” Review of At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales, by L.M. Montgomery, edited by Rea Wilmshurst; Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories, by L.M. Montgomery, edited by Rea Wilmshurst. Canadian Children’s Literature / Littérature canadienne pour la jeunesse 87 (Fall 1997): 78-79. Reprinted in Children’s Literature Review 91, edited by Scot Peacock, 143-44. Detroit: Gale, 2004.
Epperly, Elizabeth R. Review of At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales, by L.M. Montgomery, edited by Rea Wilmshurst. University of Toronto Quarterly 65, no. 1 (Winter 1995-1996): 243-45.
St Jacques, Elizabeth. Review of At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales, by L.M. Montgomery, edited by Rea Wilmshurst. In Canadian Book Review Annual 1994, edited by Joyce M. Wilson, 493. Toronto: CBRA, 1995.
