A Tangled Web (L.M.Montgomery)

Many readers know L.M. Montgomery for her classic Anne of Green Gables series, or perhaps her renowned Emily of New Moon novels, but over the course of her life, Montgomery published a total of twenty books, the majority of them set on Prince Edward Island.

As I have long known, Christmas is a wonderful time to revisit old classics and discover new ones (as I did today). A Tangled Web, although one of Montgomery's lesser known novels, is perhaps one of her most underrated. I fondly remember reading about Anne and Emily in my childhood, but I never heard a thing about the Dark and the Penhallow families, or the ailing Aunt Becky with her antique, sought-after vase until this morning when I opened the pages of A Tangled Web. 

Set in a small P.E.I town where most residents hold either the Dark or the Penhallow last name, this novel is a comedic--and sometimes hilarious--look at the lives of some of the town's most colourful characters, including two widows, a young woman just engaged, a couple who separated on their wedding night ten years before, and a wandering man who loves and speaks to the moon.

This novel is more than an entertaining series of sketches, however. Montgomery introduces the idea of love at first sight early on. Characters fall in love so quickly that the reader is left reeling and asking herself, can this be real? Surely these men and women have been badly disillusioned. The outcome of the many romances says more about love at first sight than any essay, or internet forum ever could. Like many of Montgomery's novel's A Tangled Web presents readers with a lesson about life and love. It is an indispensable read for any fan of L.M. Montgomery or fan of early and mid-century Canadian Literature.