Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows: December 2014

I finished reading Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery this week. It's the last book in the Anne of Green Gable series, and I loved it. I think it's one of the very best in the whole series.

When I went to go rate it on Goodreads, I noticed someone's comment that "It was recently drawn to my attention by a fellow Goodreads reader that the editions of Rilla of Ingleside, for which we had become accustomed, are abridged versions of the original edition that L.M. Montgomery published. Somehow along the way, an abridged edition appeared through an American publishing house and that abridged version became the standard (accidentally)."

I was like, "Whaaaaaat?" and investigated further. And it turns out this is true! The book I borrowed from the library, a Bantam Book published by HarperCollins Publishers in 1992, and which claims that "This edition contains the complete text of the original hardcover edition; Not one word has been omitted," is abridged.

One of the abridged versions

A new, "restored" version of Rilla of Ingleside was published by Viking Canada in 2010, and the editors explained in this interview how the abridged version of Rilla came to be the standard book on the shelves, masquerading as the unabridged original:

"This new edition of Rilla of Ingleside includes the tag “A new, unabridged and fully restored edition” on the cover. What does this mean?
In the 1970s, a reprint edition of Rilla of Ingleside silently cut 4,500 words, or 4% of the original text (to put it another way, that’s fourteen pages of text that are missing). That edition was reprinted by Bantam-Seal in the 1980s and remains in print today. This new edition restores the full text of the original edition, published in 1921.

What types of material were cut?
There doesn’t seem to be a clear pattern of deletions: some pertain simply to adverbs that are no longer in general use (verily, ignominiously), whereas others involve entire scenes that have been excised. Most of the cuts occur in the first half of the book, which indicates that the abridgment was done primarily for length. Most of the cuts seem fairly arbitrary."

This other page explains the same thing: "A later reprint of Rilla of Ingleside silently abridged the text by 4,500 words, and it is this text that has been available to North American readers since the 1980s. A restored, unabridged, and annotated edition, edited by Benjamin Lefebvre and Andrea McKenzie, was published by Viking Canada in October 2010. It contains the full text of Virna Sheard’s poem “The Young Knights,” which Montgomery excerpted as her epigraph."

The new, unabridged version

So, I went looking for the differences in the abridged vs. original text. I wanted to read the 4,500 words that I had missed when reading the abridged version. But I couldn't find a single comparison online! It appears that one person did do a comparison a couple years ago, but the link is now broken and the webpage doesn't exist anymore.

Soooo, I went through and compared the abridged Bantam Book copy of Rilla of Ingleside I have with the free, unabridged Project Gutenberg copy of Rilla of Ingleside. I didn't find all the words that were cut, but I did find about 3,600 of them. Definitely all the big passages, and a whole bunch of the little ones. *If anyone reading this has found more of the differences, please feel free to post them in a comment!* I've compiled them below, for anyone that mind find them useful!

Rilla of Ingleside: Abridged vs Unabridged Text

Pages

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

2014 Book List

Thursday, December 25, 2014

He is the Gift

Monday, December 8, 2014

Rilla of Ingleside: Abridged vs. Unabridged

Bantam Page Number	Abridged Text	Original Text
4	"...chasing him out of her domain..."	"...chasing him ignominiously out of her domain..."
5	"He would do anything for Jem, I believe."	"He would do anything for Jem, I verily believe."
12	She was not pretty but there was a certain charm of interest and mystery in her face.	She was not pretty but there was a certain charm of interest and mystery in her face, and Rilla found her fascinating.
12	At all other times she was a stimulating companion.	At all other times she was a stimulating companion, and the gay set at Ingleside never remembered that she was so much older than themselves.
13	She knew that Rilla longed to be "out"—to go to parties as Nan and Di did, and to have dainty evening dresses and—beaux!	She knew that Rilla longed to be "out"—to go to parties as Nan and Di did, and to have dainty evening dresses and—yes, there is no mincing matters—beaux!
13	Walter was, as ever, the handsomest of the Ingleside boys.	Walter was, as ever, the handsomest of the Ingleside boys. Miss Oliver found pleasure in looking at him for his good looks—he was so exactly like what she would have liked her own son to be.
13	That sonnet sequence was really a remarkable thing for a lad of twenty to write.	That sonnet sequence was really a remarkable thing for a lad of twenty to write. Miss Oliver was no partial critic and she knew that Walter Blythe had a wonderful gift.
15	Everybody at Ingleside was fond of him, even Susan.	Everybody at Ingleside was fond of him, even Susan, although his one unfortunate propensity of sneaking into the spare room and going to sleep on the bed tried her affection sorely.
23	A little girl indeed! She whisked out of the kitchen in high dudgeon. Her spirits rose again when she found herself one of the gay crowd bound for the Four Winds light.	A little girl indeed! She whisked out of the kitchen in high dudgeon. Another time she wouldn't go down to show herself off to Susan—Susan, who thought nobody was grown up until she was sixty! And that horrid Cousin Sophia with her digs about freckles and legs! What business had an old—an old beanpole like that to talk of anybody else being long and thin? Rilla felt all her pleasure in herself and her evening clouded and spoiled. The very teeth of her soul were set on edge and she could have sat down and cried. But later on her spirits rose again when she found herself one of the gay crowd bound for the Four Winds light.
25	The gulf beyond was still silvery blue in the afterlight. Rilla loved life. She was going to have a splendid time.	The gulf beyond was still silvery blue in the afterlight. Oh, it was all glorious—the clear air with its salt tang, the balsam of the firs, the laughter of her friends. Rilla loved life—its bloom and brilliance; she loved the ripple of music, the hum of merry conversation; she wanted to walk on forever over this road of silver and shadow. It was her first party and she was going to have a splendid time.
32	Rilla looked about her and thought how lovely her first party had been. She would never forget it.	Rilla looked about her and thought how lovely her first party had been. She would never forget it. The room re-echoed to laughter and jest. Beautiful young eyes sparkled and shone. From the pavilion outside came the lilt of the fiddle and the rhythmic steps of the dancers.
32	Why didn't Jack Elliott speak—if he had anything to tell?	Why didn't Jack Elliott speak—if he had anything to tell? Why did he just stand there, glowering importantly?
34	Walter Blythe was always saying odd things.	Walter Blythe was always saying odd things. That old Piper of his—she hadn't heard anything about him since their playdays in Rainbow Valley—and now here he was bobbing up again. She didn't like it, and that was the long and short of it.
35	It does not do to laugh at the pangs of youth. They are very terrible because youth has not yet learned that "this, too, will pass away."	It does not do to laugh at the pangs of youth. They are very terrible because youth has not yet learned that "this, too, will pass away." Rilla sighed and wished she were home, in bed, crying into her pillow.
36	Why, for mercy's sake, did boys try to dance who didn't know the first thing about dancing; and who had feet as big as boats?	Why, for mercy's sake, did boys try to dance who didn't know the first thing about dancing; and who had feet as big as boats? There, he had bumped her into somebody! She would never dance with him again!
41	Susan sat as if paralysed, her piece of pie half-eaten on her plate.	Susan sat as if paralysed, her piece of pie half-eaten on her plate. Susan never did finish that piece of pie—a fact which bore eloquent testimony to the upheaval in her inner woman for Susan considered it a cardinal offence against civilized society to begin to eat anything and not finish it. That was wilful waste, hens to the contrary notwithstanding.
43	"Your father says it will be over in a few months and I have as much faith in his opinion as I have in Lord Anybody's."	"Your father says it will be over in a few months and I have as much faith in his opinion as I have in Lord Anybody's. So just let us be calm and trust in the Almighty and get this place tidied up. I am done with crying which is a waste of time and discourages everybody."
49	"Amen to that," nodded Mrs. Norman. "Bat-blind as most of them were somebody had foresight enough to see to that."	"Amen to that," nodded Mrs. Norman. "Bat-blind as most of them were somebody had foresight enough to see to that." "Maybe England'll manage not to get into trouble over it," said Cousin Sophia plaintively. "I dunno. But I'm much afraid." "One would suppose that England was in trouble over it already, up to her neck, Sophia Crawford," said Susan. "But your ways of thinking are beyond me and always were. It is my opinion that the British Navy will settle Germany in a jiffy and that we are all getting worked up over nothing." Susan spat out the words as if she wanted to convince herself more than anybody else. She had her little store of homely philosophies to guide her through life, but she had nothing to buckler her against the thunderbolts of the week that had just passed. What had an honest, hard-working, Presbyterian old maid of Glen St. Mary to do with a war thousands of miles away? Susan felt that it was indecent that she should have to be disturbed by it.
50	"Don't you tell me one Britisher isn't a match for ten foreigners."	"Don't you tell me one Britisher isn't a match for ten foreigners. I could polish off a dozen of 'em myself with both hands tied behind my back!"
50	"They've a kind of presentiment that it wouldn't be healthy for their complaint."	"Lord love you, they've a kind of presentiment, so to speak, that it wouldn't be healthy for their complaint."
54	"Even the old cat at the manse has passed away."	"Even the old cat at the manse has passed away. He breathed his last at a quarter to ten last night and Bruce is quite heart-broken, they tell me. It's time that pussy went where good cats go. He must be at least fifteen years old. He has seemed so lonely since Aunt Martha died."
54	"Ellen West used to be always railing at the Kaiser and we thought her crazy, but now I see that there was a method in her madness."	"Ellen West used to be always railing at the Kaiser and we thought her crazy, but now I see that there was a method in her madness. This tray is packed, Mrs. Dr. dear, and I will go down and put in my best licks preparing supper. I wish I knew when I would cook another supper for Jem but such things are hidden from our eyes."
55	"The beast has more sense than most humans," said Mary Vance.	"The beast has more sense than most humans," said Mary Vance. "Well, did we any of us ever think we'd live to see this day? I bawled all night to think of Jem and Jerry going like this. I think they're plumb deranged."
56	"Let them European nations fight it out between them," said Abner Reese.	"Let them European nations fight it out between them," said Abner Reese. "When he was a boy I gave him many a good trouncing," shouted Norman Douglas, who seemed to be referring to some one high in military circles in Charlottetown. "Yes, sir, I walloped him well, big gun as he is now."
57	Rilla felt as if she were in some fantastic nightmare.	Rilla felt as if she were in some fantastic nightmare. Were these the people who, three weeks ago, were talking of crops and prices and local gossip?
57	Nothing to do now but to go home—and wait.	Nothing to do now but to go home—and wait. The doctor and Mrs. Blythe walked off together—so did Nan and Faith—so did John Meredith and Rosemary. Walter and Una and Shirley and Di and Carl and Rilla went in a group. Susan had put her bonnet back on her head, hindside foremost, and stalked grimly off alone.
61	Her first impulse was to turn and flee. But that would not do.	Rilla's first impulse was to turn and flee. But that would never do.
61	"You're the doctor's miss, ain't ye?"	"You're the doctor's miss, ain't ye? Have a cheer?" Rilla did not see any chair which was not cluttered with something. She remained standing.
62	Yet a feeling of pity for the desolate, orphaned mite took sudden possession of her.	Yet a feeling of pity for the desolate, orphaned mite which had "come out of the everywhere" into such a dubious "here", took sudden possession of her.
62	"I ain't a-going to trouble myself with it, I can tell yez. I told Min it'd have to be sent to an orphan asylum till we'd see if Jim ever came back to look after it. She didn't relish the idee."	"I ain't a-going to trouble myself with it, I can tell yez. I brung up a boy that my sister left and he skinned out as soon as he got to be some good and won't give me a mite o' help in my old age, ungrateful whelp as he is. I told Min it'd have to be sent to an orphan asylum till we'd see if Jim ever came back to look after it. Would yez believe it, she didn't relish the idee."
62	"I hadn't time—took me all the time there was looking after Min."	"I hadn't time—took me all the time there was looking after Min. 'Sides, as I told yez, I don't know nithing about kids."
63	"Sure, if yez wants to," said Mrs. Conover amiably.	"Sure, if yez wants to," said Mrs. Conover amiably. "I hain't any objection. Take it and welcome."
64	"Better not let the wind blow on it," admonished Mrs. Conover. "Take its breath if it do."	"Better not let the wind blow on it," admonished Mrs. Conover. "Take its breath if it do." Rilla wrapped the tattered little quilt around the soup tureen. "Will you hand this to me after I get into the buggy, please?" "Sure I will," said Mrs. Conover, getting up with a grunt.
71	"...lies down patiently to wait for the next train. One day some boys threw stones at Monday and old Johnny Mead, who never was known to take notice of anything before, snatched up a meat axe in the butcher's shop and chased them through the village."	"...lies down patiently to wait for the next train. Mr. Gray, the station master, says there are times when he can hardly help crying from sheer sympathy. One day some boys threw stones at Monday and old Johnny Mead, who never was known to take notice of anything before, snatched up a meat axe in the butcher's shop and chased them through the village. Nobody has molested Monday since."
76	"Business as usual is England's motto, they tell me, Mrs. Dr. dear, and I have taken it for mine."	"Business as usual is England's motto, they tell me, Mrs. Dr. dear, and I have taken it for mine, not thinking I could easily find a better. I shall make the same kind of pudding today I always make on Saturday. It is a good deal of trouble to make, and that is well, for it will employ my thoughts."
76	"A sock a day is my allowance."	"A sock a day is my allowance. Old Mrs. Albert Mead of Harbour Head manages a pair and a half a day but she has nothing to do but knit. You know, Mrs. Dr. dear, she has been bed-rid for years and she has been worrying terrible because she was no good to anybody and a dreadful expense, and yet could not die and be out of the way. And now they tell me she is quite chirked up and resigned to living because there is something she can do, and she knits for the soldiers from daylight to dark."
76	"And they say Joe Milgrave would too, only he is afraid that if he does that Whiskers-on-the-moon will not let him have Miranda."	"And they say Joe Milgrave would too, only he is afraid that if he does that Whiskers-on-the-moon will not let him have Miranda. Whiskers says that he will believe the stories of German atrocities when he sees them, and that it is a good thing that Rangs Cathedral has been destroyed because it was a Roman Catholic church. Now, I am not a Roman Catholic, Mrs. Dr. dear, being born and bred a good Presbyterian and meaning to live and die one, but I maintain that the Catholics have as good a right to their churches as we have to ours and that the Huns had no kind of business to destroy them. Just think, Mrs. Dr. dear," concluded Susan pathetically, "how we would feel if a German shell knocked down the spire of our church here in the glen, and I'm sure it is every bit as bad to think of Rangs cathedral being hammered to pieces." And, meanwhile, everywhere, the lads of the world rich and poor, low and high, white and brown, were following the Piper's call.
76	"I don't believe I could bear another parting from him."	"I don't believe I could bear another parting from him—now that I know the war will not be over as soon as we hoped when he left first."
78	"I have always said that the devil was in him and that I will tie to." Susan opened the door and looked in.	"I have always said that the devil was in him and that I will tie to." "It is my opinion that the cat has hydrophobia," said Cousin Sophia solemnly. "I once heard of a cat that went mad and bit three people—and they all died a most terrible death, and turned black as ink." Undismayed by this, Susan opened the door and looked in.
79	Anything like Doc's shrieks while the process was going on was never heard at Ingleside.	Anything like Doc's shrieks while the process was going on was never heard at Ingleside. Susan was in mortal dread that the Albert Crawfords would hear it and conclude she was torturing the creature to death.