Disillusionment

For the past month I've been reading childhood classics that I didn't actually read during my childhood. Our local GoodWill has tons of them, and I've been buying them up left and right for when Raia becomes old enough to read them/have them read to her.

It's been an interesting experience thus far, after only two books. First was PeterPan, then Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Peter wasn't exactly who I was expecting him to be, and some scenes from the movie Hook now make a lot more sense. But Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm... Oh Lucy Maud Montgomery, you've let me down! Anne of Green Gables is so totally a rip-off of Rebecca! (Rebecca was written 5 years earlier) There are SO many similarities that it's impossible to ignore. True, Rebecca isn't an orphan, but she spent her early childhood helping to care for a bunch of small children. She's sent to live with a couple of childless spinsters, one of whom has a hard time expressing her true feelings (Marilla). She charms the man who drives the wagon taking her to her aunts' home (Matthew). She completes a high school course a year early (Queen's). She has an unimaginative bosom-buddy (Diana). And there are so many more...

The Anne of Green Gables series has been my FAVORITE book series for ages, and now I feel a wee bit hoodwinked. There's a sequel to Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm that I want to find now to see if it parallels Anne of Avonlea. At least the later books in the series are original. I hope. :(

Next up is Alice in Wonderland. Ought to be a trip!