A Chapter of Accidents: Twenty-seven Rediscovered Stories L.M. Montgomery Edited by Carolyn Strom Collins

Being a total Anne of Green Gables nerd, I was overjoyed to get to read this volume of short stories by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  LMM's books have been such a huge part of my life, and who I am, for so many years now that it's delightful and surprising to read something 'new' from LMM.  I felt that same buzz of excitement that I had years ago when I discovered that it wasn't just the Anne & Emily novels she had written, but that there was lots more besides!

This is a good collection of stories that haven't been in print since they were published in the various newspapers and periodicals that originally paid for them.  Most were written before Anne was published in 1908, with five of them written shortly after that, and one from 1932.  They are a mixture of those very moralistic tales she penned for younger children, and then other (more interesting, to me) grown-up stories.  I always love LMM best when she is funny, and there were some really good moments in this collection.  You can see flashes of parts or ideas that she used later in her novels, and it's interesting to see her writing develop.  I enjoyed thinking to myself as I read 'oh, well that's the start of idea of the disappointed house' or 'that feels like a very Anne-ish disaster!'  

There were one or two stories that sat a little uncomfortably - with rather young women being 'seduced' by much older men.  But on the whole I was caught up in these little flashes of characters that she brings to life so beautifully.  There isn't quite the same sense of place as you find in the novels - I fell in love with Prince Edward Island long before I actually managed to go there - but there are flashes of description that I could see were the start of how she writes to create a sense of place.

It's a lovely collection, with a good range of stories, and just perfect for all the many LMM fans out there who are always eager to read a little more.  Thank you so much to the publishers and to NetGalley for my review copy.