Across the Miles: Tales of CorrespondenceIn L.M. Montgomery’s world, receiving a letter was an important event. Letters, before the advent of the telephone, were the sole means of communication between people who lived at a distance from each other. Letter-writing was a cultivated skill, honed by another nineteenth-century pastime, keeping a journal. The twenty stories in Across the Miles bear witness to the importance these writing forms played in ordinary people’s lives, as they corresponded with loved ones and expressed themselves through their journals. As usual, Montgomery’s cast of characters ranges widely, from the poor but ambitious student Grace Seeley, to the rich but lonely Isobel Shirley, from the “unholy imp” Link Houseman to the country doctor Jack Willoughby and his millionaire rival Gus Sinclair. Her tales may be set on her beloved Prince Edward Island or the western prairies, in a humble cottage or a society mansion; her tone may be serious or playful; her characters may be caught up in whirlwind love affairs or the more prosaic business of everyday life. But always the stories in Across the Miles bring us back to a world we feel we have lost, a world of old-fashioned values and concerns, a world we enter gladly, sure that we will find people, places, and plots to amuse charm and move us. |
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Page 36
... Stephen Merritt was false . " " Stephen - who ? " demanded Willard abruptly . Miss Sally coloured . " I didn't mean to tell you his name , " she said , getting up . " It was a slip of the tongue . Never mind – forget it and him . He was ...
... Stephen Merritt was false . " " Stephen - who ? " demanded Willard abruptly . Miss Sally coloured . " I didn't mean to tell you his name , " she said , getting up . " It was a slip of the tongue . Never mind – forget it and him . He was ...
Page 37
... Merritt , " he said deliberately , " and Stephen Merritt was my great - uncle . I never saw him- he died when I was a child- but I've heard my father speak of him often . " Miss Sally turned very pale . She passed her cobwebby ...
... Merritt , " he said deliberately , " and Stephen Merritt was my great - uncle . I never saw him- he died when I was a child- but I've heard my father speak of him often . " Miss Sally turned very pale . She passed her cobwebby ...
Page 38
... Stephen Merritt to " dearest Sally , " and contained a frank , manly avowal of love . Would she be his wife ? If she would , let her write and tell him so . But if she did not and could not love him , let her silence reveal the bitter ...
... Stephen Merritt to " dearest Sally , " and contained a frank , manly avowal of love . Would she be his wife ? If she would , let her write and tell him so . But if she did not and could not love him , let her silence reveal the bitter ...
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