The Doctor’s Sweetheart and Other Stories (1979)
By L.M. Montgomery
Selected by Catherine McLay
Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1979 [Paperback edition, Bantam-Seal, 1993]
Synopsis
Although probably most famous for her novels, including the charming and beloved Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery also wrote hundreds of stories, many of which have never been republished since they originally appeared in the popular magazines of her day.
The Doctor’s Sweetheart and Other Stories is a collection of fourteen delightful examples of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s previously uncollected stories. Many are love stories: tales of reconciliation, of unexpected romance, and sometimes of humorous trickery that results in a match not “made in heaven,” but amusingly down-to-earth. The stories cover a long span of the career of this author, and they have been written with the same charm, delicacy, wit, and perception that readers down the years have come to expect from L.M. Montgomery.
Catherine McLay of the University of Calgary spent countless hours unearthing the stories brought together here for the first time. Her effort is well rewarded by the pleasure to be reaped from meeting the characters who live on these pages—from little Jims, who meets a kindly lady in “The Garden of Spices,” to Doctor John whose sweetheart returns at last.
Includes an introduction by the compiler as well as a biography of L.M. Montgomery and suggestions for further reading.
Contents
Preface (6-7)
Introduction (8-25)
Books and Articles on L.M. Montgomery (26)
Biography: L.M. Montgomery (Mrs. Ewen Macdonald) (27-31)
Kismet (33-37)
Emily’s Husband (38-47)
The Girl and the Wild Race (48-57)
The Promise of Lucy Ellen (58-66)
The Parting of the Ways (67-71)
The Doctor’s Sweetheart (72-80)
By Grace of Julius Caesar (81-89)
Akin to Love (90-104)
The Finished Story (105-113)
My Lady Jane (114-123)
Abel and his Great Adventure (124-139)
The Garden of Spices (140-159)
The Bride is Waiting (160-174)
I Know a Secret (175-190)
Books by L.M. Montgomery (n.pag.)
Reviews
Morley, Patricia. Review of The Doctor’s Sweetheart and Other Stories, by L.M. Montgomery, selected by Catherine McLay. In Canadian Book Review Annual 1979, edited by Dean Tudor, Nancy Tudor, and Kathy Vanderlinden, 169. Toronto: PMA Books, 1980.
Rubio, Mary. Review of The Doctor’s Sweetheart and Other Stories, by L.M. Montgomery, selected by Catherine McLay. Quill & Quire, July 1979, 48-49.
