Set after the marriage of Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe, this installment centers on the six Blythe children and their new neighbors at the Glen St. Mary manse. The Meredith siblings—Jerry, Faith, Una, and Carl—are the motherless children of a distracted Presbyterian minister. While playing in the hollow they call Rainbow Valley, the two families form a tight-knit circle. The imaginative Merediths frequently scandalize the local congregation through public mishaps and unconventional behavior, eventually forming a secret society to self-impose discipline and avoid further embarrassment to their father’s reputation.
Fans of domestic fiction and traditional coming-of-age stories read this for its focus on childhood autonomy and the dynamics of neighborhood play. Readers observe the social pressures of early twentieth-century small-town life and the specific moral expectations placed on clergy families. The narrative provides a look at how children navigate grief, handle social ostracization, and form their own ethical codes outside of adult supervision. One gains a perspective on the transition from Victorian childhood innocence to the looming changes of the pre-war era.
Clear-cut; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Escapist Adventurer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1919
- Language
- EN
