Magic for Marigold

 

Magic for Marigold / LM Montgomery
TO: Seal Books, 1988, c1925.
274 p.

I've read all of LM Montgomery's work, and own nearly all of the books, as I do like to reread them. However, I'd never reread Magic for Marigold; I only remembered not liking it when I was a younger reader. I thought it was time to revisit it and see what I thought, after seeing that the Facebook group LM Montgomery Readathon had chosen it as the latest read.

I was surprised at how much I did not recall - nearly nothing about it! I remembered the visit of the spoiled princess Varvara one day when Marigold was alone, that's about it. It was fun to read this as if it was the first time. 

But it really wasn't as good as the Anne, Emily, or Pat books. It was episodic, with each chapter showing Marigold's adventures as she grows up. I recognized a few of the chapters as rewrites of some of the events of other books or short stories, changed up to fit into Marigold's story. There was a lot of focus on domesticity (though not as much as Jane of Lantern Hill) and tons of clan politics, like in The Tangled Web. Lovely little Marigold and her rather sweet, ineffective mother live with her stern grandmothers, Old Grandmother and Young Grandmother, and the expectations for behaviour in a little girl are strong. When Marigold contravenes these proper behaviours, it's always because of a cousin or neighbour (or runaway princess) who are 'bad' -- girls full of pep who do what they want, hang the consequences. Rather Pippi like! 

There's not a strong throughline to this one, it's really just stories of Marigold experiencing visits to relatives, finding new friends, visiting her imaginary friend in the spruce wood, loving cats and nature and her mother, and growing up through many stages between young childhood and age 12/13 where the book ends. Each chapter stands alone as its own story, really, and so this book can be read in spurts, it doesn't have to be followed for plot. 

It's still not my favourite Montgomery, but now I want to make some fancy cake, or some of the Hop and Go Fetch Its that are constantly mentioned - although I can't find any more information on what exactly these little iced cookies might be. Even if it's not the best Montgomery, it's still quite delightful.