Thread by @lainasparetime

Okay, I have tea and music and the master thread has been updated, so shall we do an Anne chapter? #LainaReadsAnne

#LainaReadsAnne They're getting Anne packed for school, and she has come a long way from owning three plain dresses.

"Anne's outfit was ample and pretty, for Matthew saw to that, and Marilla for once made no objections whatever to anything he purchased or suggested."

#LainaReadsAnne Marilla even had Mrs Allan help her pick out a delicate pale green material for an evening dress for Anne. She says they'll get Emily Gillis to make it, as "Emily has got taste, and her fits aren't to be equalled".

#LainaReadsAnne Far from thinking clothing need only be practical now, Marilla wanted Anne to have something special to wear if she wanted to go to a party or a dinner out, or another social engagement where she had to dress up a bit.

#LainaReadsAnne When it's finished, Marilla looks at Anne in it, remembers her "yellow-ish, brown wincey" dress that she arrived in, and tears come to her eyes, right in front of both Anne and Matthew.

#LainaReadsAnne Anne sits on her lap and kisses her cheek to comfort her, and Marilla says she wishes Anne could have stayed a little girl and she's going to miss Anne dreadfully.

Hold on, I'm crying.

#LainaReadsAnne Honestly can you imagine the early book Marilla being so open about her feelings towards Anne?

Anne says she hasn't really changed, not inside. She's just "pruned down and branched out". That's honestly a good message? You can grow without changing who you are.

#LainaReadsAnne She says, "It won't make a bit of difference where I go or how much I change outwardly; at heart I shall always be your little Anne, who will love you and Matthew and dear Green Gables more and better every day of her life."

#LainaReadsAnne She lays her cheek against Marilla's, and pats Matthew's shoulder.

Marilla hugs her tightly and Matthew has to go outside so he doesn't start crying himself.

#LainaReadsAnne I'm not even joking here - this part seriously makes me tear up. He says to himself that "she ain't spoiled" and him "putting in my oar occasionally never did much harm after all." No, no, it didn't. You raised a great girl, Matthew, and you were a perfect grandpa

#LainaReadsAnne He says Anne is smart and pretty and most importantly loving, and it was the luckiest mistake ever she was brought to them. Maybe not even luck, he thinks, but "Providence, because the Almight saw we needed her, I reckon".

*deep inhale* I'm good.

#LainaReadsAnne All too soon comes the September morning when Matthew drives Anne to school. She and Diana share a tearful goodbye after which Diana goes to a beach picnic with cousins and pretends to enjoy herself.

#LainaReadsAnne Marilla doesn't cry saying goodbye (Anne does), but she goes home and "plunged fiercely into unnecessary work".

That night, when she goes to bed and feels Anne's absence from her little gable room, she weeps passionately for her girl.

Man, that gets me, too.

#LainaReadsAnne Let's talk about school instead so I don't keep crying.

Anne and Gilbert both plan to do "the Second year work" which means they'll get a First Class teacher's licence in one year instead of two. This is in fact what Montgomery herself did, and it's not easy.

#LainaReadsAnne Most of the time the only person Anne knows in a class of fifty people is Gilbert. She's grateful for their old rivalry, as it makes her feel less lonely.

She also thinks he has a "splendid chin".

Oh, if you're curious, my notebook ran out of pages here.

#LainaReadsAnne She also immediately notices two girls in her class that she thinks look very interesting and she'd like to get to know better. Seriously, half a page spent on the girls, one line to Gilbert's chin.

#LainaReadsAnne Of course, Anne promised Diana "no Queen's girl, no matter how much I liked her, should ever be as dear to me as she is".

Anne, please. Honestly, I can't even with this girl sometimes.

#LainaReadsAnne The other Avonlea girls are "boarding" with family, but Anne doesn't have that option obviously. Aunt Josephine wanted to let Anne stay with her, but her home is too far from school, so Josephine found a very respectable boarding house for Anne.

#LainaReadsAnne It is a nice place, very safe, but it's a little impersonal and Anne feels rather homesick for her room in Green Gables. Despite scolding herself, she begins to cry.

It's stopped by the appearance of the one and only (thankfully) Josie Pye.

#LainaReadsAnne "In the joy of seeing a familar face Anne forgot that there had never been much love lost between her and Josie. As part of Avonlea life even a Pye was welcome."

Josie is... Josie. She's not going to feel homesick for love nor money. Ah, Josie. You are a Pye.

#LainaReadsAnne A boy, Frank Stockley, noticed Anne in class and asked Josie about her. Josie said Anne was "an orphan the Cuthberts adopted, and nobody knew very much about what you'd been before that".

Josie, you've known the girl for FOUR YEARS. You know plenty about her.

#LainaReadsAnne You know what, adaptation note - Josie Pye focuses on Anne being an orphan over knowing her for four years.

#LainaReadsAnne Jane and Ruby come by and Josie is apparently not speaking to Jane so she has to shut up, lol.

Ruby and Jane have both been feeling a touch homesick and they're all glad to visit a bit. Marilla also apparently loaded Anne up with cake.

#LainaReadsAnne Ruby asks if Anne means to try "for the gold medal" which I believe is the Governer General's Academic Medal? Either that or a fictional version. It's a medal given to the student with the highest academic standing at the end of the year.

#LainaReadsAnne Anne says she is, and of course, Gilbert Blythe is as well

It also turns out Queen's will be receiving an Avery scholarship. Basically a rich dude in New Brunswick kicked the bucket and left a bunch of money to various schools in the Maritimes.

#LainaReadsAnne The graduate at the end of the year with the highest English and English Lit marks will win a scholarship for four years at Redmond College, the cost of which is $250 a year. Which is a loooot of money in 1880ish.

#LainaReadsAnne The Avery scholarship wasn't real when Montgomery wrote Anne, but it has been defictionalized. The University of Prince Edward Island has a $1000 scholarship.

#LainaReadsAnne It's given to a student "who has an interest in L.M. Montgomery, a demonstrated aptitude for social media initiatives, and above average writing skills with an understanding of the importance of clear and effective communication."

#LainaReadsAnne Man I kind of wish I was in college lol. Hey, @upei wanna kick in to my ko-fi? XD

#LainaReadsAnne Anne is super excited about the idea of the scholarship, especially about how proud Matthew would be of her. Making Matthew proud is one of her biggest goals in life.

#LainaReadsAnne As the chapter closes, Anne vows that if the scholarship can be won by hard work, she's going to do it.

#LainaReadsAnne Note on the end of this project. We have four chapters left. The next two chapters are going to be fairly short, the third is a medium length, and the fourth will be very long. Very long.

#LainaReadsAnne I'm taking tomorrow off (that's probably gonna become a weekly thing), but I might actually do two threads on Monday since it's both of them are so very short. No promises, though.

Either way, if all goes as plan, we'll be done the book by Friday.

#LainaReadsAnne So, you know, plan accordingly. Last thread will likely be either Wednesday or Thursday, but definitely by Friday at the latest. Not committing to a strict deadline in case the weather changes give me a migraine, but end of week by the latest.

#LainaReadsAnne And a reminder that if you enjoy these threads and you want to help me keep doing them, you can hit up my ko-fi (currently going towards hair dye, skin care, and copies of future books). ko-fi.com/A0602GN

#LainaReadsAnne And if you want to support me in a non-monetary way, RT the threads! That really helps me to feel like I'm not just talking into the void!