#CBR10Bingo: This Old Thing (published in 1910)
Spoiler warning! There will be a number of spoilers for the plot of this book, because the only way I will be able to fully vent my spleen on this atrocious piece of writing is by going into minute detail about the MANY things I found dumb, objectionable or downright offensive in this book. You might as well allow yourself to be spoiled, this book is bad and you don’t actually want to waste time reading it.
Eric Marshall has just graduated college and knows that his future is secure. He is going to work for his wealthy father, but before he starts in the family business, he agrees to help out an old school friend for a while. Substituting as a teacher on Prince Edward Island for a season, Eric settles in nicely, popular among the locals.
One day, wandering in an overgrown and abandoned orchard, Eric comes across a beautiful young woman playing the violin. Kilmeny Gordon is mute and has lived an extremely sheltered life on the farm belonging to her aunt and uncle. There was a scandal surrounding her birth and until Kilmeny’s mother died a few years ago, the girl was barely allowed outside the house. At first, she’s scared of Eric, but they begin to get to know one another, and it doesn’t take too long for Eric to realise he wants to make Kilmeny his wife.
When one of the squares for CBR10Bingo required me to read a book published before 1918, I pondered for a while. Then, inspired by my love for L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables books, her Emily books, and The Blue Castle, I decided to see if she’d written any other books I could try. This one fit the bill, being published in 1910. When I recently mentioned to my BFF Lydia that I’d read a more obscure Montgomery novel, she exclaimed: “It wasn’t Kilmeny of the Orchard, was it? That book is awful!” How I wish I’d spoken to her BEFORE I read this book.
Full review on my blog.